The Gifted Moon Academy
by Outai Tabibito
Summary: This is a sort of a spin off of X-men. It is basically the same world, where some people have special abilities, and are rejected by society for it. This is told from the point of view of view of someone else in another academy.
1. Monster!

A beautiful scene of wealth and joy, decorated in all the finest. In the middle of a very large, very grand ball room decorated with silvers and silks and all means of rich finery, was a young woman with raven colored hair and the deepest green eyes you could ever find. Dressed in a flattering yellow dress that flowed to her shins and made more revealing by the slit that went up to her left hip, she was the apple of everyone's eye. She was brilliant, both in mind and in attitude, and well loved in her extravagant community.

That evening, she was dancing happily with her boyfriend – a tall young man with light brown hair and eyes, and the most dazzling smile a woman would ever see – and oh how they were having fun! She all but glowed with joy as they spun and stepped gracefully across the dance floor as a small orchestra played from the north side of the room. Her joy became elation, as she loved both music and dancing, and at that moment they were dancing her favorite dance. It was a dance that always made her happy, even when she was being bullied by other children that were less intelligent, but much older than her. No matter how dreary things were, this dance made her happy, and when she felt down she would go some place quiet and perform it to cheer herself up.

"Wh-what's that?!" a voice shrieked through her happy thoughts as she danced with the man she loved.

Rinsi scanned the room with green eyes, wondering who it was that interrupted her happy moment, and why. It didn't take long. She knew the voice from anywhere. It was a friend of her auntie, who was rather fond of drama and causing it. The woman was staring at her with fright-filled blue eyes, pressing a rather pudgy hand that was over decorated with exquisite rings to her chest dramatically. Her other rather pudgy hand pointed a finger with a red painted finger nail at Rinsi.

Rinsi didn't get it. Why would that woman point at her, looking so afraid? She knew her since she was a baby, and they had always gotten along well together. Thinking perhaps there was something on her party dress, she looked down only to find a flawless party dress covering smooth, soft skin. But something was off. The dress, her skin…everything seemed to be different. It was almost as if they were brighter than usual. That was completely impossible, she knew. People don't glow like light bulbs, and frankly it was frightening her. She didn't know what was going on, or why. She looked up and gazed around the room, looking for her aunt and uncle, hoping they would have some sort of explanation. However, instead of the old, somewhat tired faces of her loving aunt and uncle, she saw the cold, frightened faces of the friends and family that had come to celebrate her eighteenth birthday with her, and they had somehow quickly gained some distance from her.

"Wh-what's going on?" she stammered, holding her hands out in front of her to examine them.

A thought struck her just then. She had been dancing with her boyfriend when this glowing suddenly started. Where was he now? Rinsi looked up to see he, too, had gained some distance, and was looking at her both with fear and disgust.

"M-monster!" he screamed at her, taking a step back as she took a step forward, "S-stay away from me you monster! You're one of them! You're one of those freaks!"

She was…a monster? A freak? Those words rang loud in her head and pierced through her like a knife in her heart. Yes, she had heard of them on the news lately – people who had strange special abilities, who could do anything from reading minds to controlling elements, and beyond. She never hated them, but instead felt sorry for them. Now she was one of them, and she couldn't help but wonder how it had happened.

"I'm…not…." She whispered, taking a step back slowly, "I'm…not a freak…I'm…not…"

As if on cue – and Rinsi couldn't help but think that perhaps it was done on purpose to add to the drama – the woman who had first pointed her out swooned, falling back into the arms of her husband who was nearby. Another woman let out an ear piercing shriek, hysteric from the sudden change in scenery.

"She's a monster! She's killed Mrs. Hathaway!" the woman shrieked.

"I…didn't…" was all Rinsi could manage to whisper through the confusion and fear that clouded her mind.

And that was all it took to create chaos. Immediately people began running around, screaming that they didn't want to die, screaming for someone to save them from the 'monster', all while running around like chickens with their heads cut off. In the midst of the chaos of panic stricken, albeit well-dressed, guests, Mr. Hathaway – a stately looking gentleman that made his living as a bank manager – had somehow found his way through the crowd of screaming idiots. His large, gruff hands were suddenly around Rinsi's neck, and the next thing she knew, she was struggling for air.

"You little bitch!" he screamed at her, "What did you do to my wife?!"

"I…didn't…" she barely managed to whisper as her lungs began to scream for air.

Rinsi tried to pry the man's hand away from her neck, but he was too strong. He didn't look like it at first glance, but he did lift weights in his spare time, and now it was blatantly evident. His grip was hurting her neck badly, and she was afraid he might snap her neck any moment if she couldn't get some sort of control over the situation. However, lack of oxygen and complete fear and confusion worked against her, erasing any reasoning, any memory of skills she had learned to defend herself, any means of escaping this potentially lethal situation. As if to add insult to injury, he back handed her across the face, causing her cheek to burn. She knew that, if she survived this, her neck would be badly bruised, and the right side of her face would be badly swollen.

"Don't lie you fucking cunt!" he screamed at her again. "You killed her!"

The man was like a bull that had seen red. There was no stopping him as he punched her on the left side of her face, while simultaneously dropping her to the floor. Rinsi gasped a few deep breaths of air, grateful for every little bit she could get. However, she was unable to get much before she found it being forced out of her lungs by a powerful kick to her stomach. Rinsi doubled over, coughing, gagging, and gasping for air as she fought back the urge to show everyone just what she had eaten for lunch not too long ago. Before she could stand, she found the same foot that had met with her stomach rudely meeting her face, knocking her back a few feet.

Rinsi curled into a fetal position, not knowing what to do next as she knew there was more to come, but was surprised when, instead of a shout of derogatory terms towards her, there was something akin to the sound of an enraged animal meeting another enraged animal. As her mind began to grasp what was going on, she realized it was not two animals, but two people.

"Get your hands off of her this minute!" another voice barked out.

"I'll kill her!" Mr. Hathaway screamed.

Rinsi looked up between shaking hands, peering between shaking fingers, to see who had savior was. Lo and behold, she saw her uncle, and she knew he was angry. If the fact he had Mr. Hathaway in a good head lock wasn't a good enough of a hint, the nearly comical hue of red that had taken over his older, but distinguished face was.

"That bitch killed my wife!" Mr. Hathaway screamed as he thrashed about, trying to free himself from the arms that kept his own from moving too far from the center of his body.

"If you'd just paid attention, you'd know she isn't dead! She fucking fainted!"

As if the confusion of the evening hadn't been enough, Rinsi was even more astonished that her uncle had used such strong and foul language. She'd never seen him so angry, nor heard him so angry before, and were it not for the fiery pain in her face and stomach, she might have laughed or said something witty.

Mr. Hathaway ceased his thrashings and glanced over to where his wife was laying. Or at least, he tried to. With her uncle's arms locking his, and with his hands locked behind Mr. Hathaway's head, he couldn't turn his head very well to see. Without a word, her uncle spun around, dragging Mr. Hathaway with him so he could see clearly his wife lying on the floor. As he had said, Mrs. Hathaway was alive. The slow rise and fall of her large bosom made that much clear. After some coaxing from a young woman with blonde hair pulled back into a curly bun and piercing blue eyes, Mrs. Hathaway's eyes fluttered open and began to study her surroundings.

"Agatha!" Mr. Hathaway called out; very much relieved to see she was okay. "Let me go, Howard!"

"I don't think so, Leon!" her uncle retorted, "We've got you on assault and attempted murder, and we are pressing charges."

"Let me go now, or I'm counter charging for kidnapping!"

As much as Rinsi would have loved to see Mr. Hathaway be dragged away by the police at that moment, she found herself quickly shrinking back into a fetal position at the touch of a gentle hand on her shoulder. She was afraid it was another panic-stricken guest out to beat her up more, and she didn't want that. However, instead of a beating, she found that warm, gentle hand squeezing her shoulder gently, accompanied by a gentle voice cooing at her from behind.

"Come on, dear, let's get you up." The voice said.

Through all the chaos and confusion in her mind, through the pain that her mind was registering to the point of ignoring everything else but the chaos, Rinsi recognized that voice. It was her aunt Ruth, the woman who had been her mother since her own had died when she was little. The other two screaming voices began to grow quieter as both her uncle and Mr. Hathaway were dragged out of the room, leaving only Rinsi, her aunt Ruth, and Mrs. Hathaway in the room. The woman who had been with Mrs. Hathaway earlier had long since left.

"If you ask me," Mrs. Hathaway said haughtily, "the little monster deserved every bit of it. Monsters like her aren't human, and shouldn't be treated as such."

"Shut that fat mouth of yours!" her aunt Ruth said angrily.

Rinsi watched as Mrs. Hathaway complied, looking rather surprised that her dear friend – Rinsi's aunt Ruth – had spoken so harshly and rudely with her. It would have been funny, if it weren't for the fact that they were supposed to be friends.

"You're no better than the slave traders!" Ruth continued, "You think because someone is different that they are not human, that they are animals, that they don't deserve to be treated like humans. Only those who say such things and do such things are the true monsters!"

"Well!" Mrs. Hathaway said, throwing her feather boa around her shoulders dramatically, "That's quite enough out of you, Ruth Starlight! Let's see what you say when our funding for your little homeless shelter gets cut off!"

With that Mrs. Hathaway stormed out of the room, her nose in the air.

Tears began to roll down Rinsi's cheeks. She was in pain, both physical and emotional. She was a monster. Her boyfriend had said so. Her friend Mrs. Hathaway said so. Everyone said so. She had even caused the end of her aunt's friendship with Mrs. Hathaway. Perhaps everyone was right. Even though she hadn't directly hurt anyone, nor had she shown any abilities, she had still caused panic enough for people to get hurt. She had caused her love to say something horrible to her, and her friends turn away from her. Maybe they were right. She had only glowed a little, but that little did so much damage. Maybe she really was a monster.


	2. Questions

As much as she hated the thought, the next day was school, and Rinsi had to go no matter what. It wasn't that she was not doing well in her classes – far from it! However, if she was going to be a great physician like her father was, she had to attend every day and get perfect grades, especially now that she was in college – albeit a few years early – and already going for her bachelors. So, in spite of her still screaming face, stomach, and neck, Rinsi dragged herself out of the warmth and comfort of her blankets that had enveloped her and slowly stood in the cold, unforgiving air of her room. She shivered a bit and walked up to her window to shut it. She peered through the curtains warily once the window was secured to make sure no one had seen her through the window. She knew she looked bedraggled and beaten, and not without cause either and she didn't want anyone to see her like that. She was just lucky that it was the middle of winter, so most of the bruises could be covered with a turtleneck sweater.

However, more than just her physical injuries, she for once dreaded school because she knew that news in her community travelled like a forest fire via rumors spoken by everyone around her. Such things were not uncommon, where the closest of friends could suddenly spread awful rumors of each other behind their backs, and she knew that, because of the events of the night previous, there would be rumors of her galore. It wasn't like there weren't rumors of her at all – those who were jealous of her intelligence had spread rumors of her cheating, or even sleeping around, and all of those rumors were quickly quelled either by the influence of her lawyer uncle, or by people simply finding out the truth. But it was these rumors of her glowing and 'killing' Mrs. Hathaway that Rinsi feared the most. She knew those rumors could not, and would not be quelled. She might as well have written 'Murderer' across her forehead in red sharpie marker, even though Mrs. Hathaway was just fine.

Even more than that, she really didn't want to hear her 'friends' call her a monster any more. She was hurting badly from her boyfriend calling her that, and would not be surprised if that was his means of breaking up with her. She loved her friends, and she really loved her boyfriend, but at the same time she knew that they were only 'fair weather' friends. She had never known anyone besides her aunt and uncle that wasn't a 'fair weather' friend, so she had to be glad for what she had.

"Rinsi!" her aunt's voice called from downstairs, breaking her away from her thoughts, "Breakfast!"

Rinsi didn't bother getting dressed. She merely slipped on her fuzzy slippers and trotted down the stairs of their lavish home in nothing but a pair of pajama pants and a snug fitting pajama shirt. Her hair was mussed from sleeping, and her eyes had bags under them from a restless night of sleep. In contrast, her aunt and uncle looked well rested as they sat at the table reading books or the news paper while sipping their coffee as a servant – who was shorter than Rinsi, and had finely tanned skin and dark hair, and was more like family than a servant – placed plates of toast and eggs before them. The servant smiled at Rinsi, though the smile was not returned, but the smile soon faded when she could see the bruises on Rinsi's face and neck.

"My goodness!" she said in surprise and concern, "What happened to you?"

Rinsi looked at her aunt pleadingly. She didn't feel like saying anything at all, much less talking about the events of the previous night. She was too honest for her own good, and would tell her something that might make her friend leave.

"She had a rough time at her party." Her aunt explained, giving the servant a warm, but warning smile.

"I see…I won't inquire any more into it. Would you like me to call the family doctor?"

"No, that won't be necessary." Her aunt said warmly, "We're going to get enough attention as it is. We really don't want any more."

"I…see…" the servant said, paling noticeably.

"Thank you for cooking, Amanda." Rinsi said quietly, "But unfortunately I don't have an appetite this morning."

"Is your stomach bothering you?"

"Yeah…I guess…" Rinsi said quietly. "I'm going to go back to sleep now."

"What about school?" Her uncle asked, setting his paper aside.

"I won't go today. I don't feel well."

"Well, your grades and attendance have been impeccable before and since starting college, and I know it's not easy. I don't think it will hurt to miss a day." Her aunt said. "Amanda, please call the dean and let her know Rinsi is ill today."

"Yes, ma'am. " Amanda said, "Rinsi, would you like some hot tea to settle your stomach a bit?"

"No, thank you." Rinsi said quietly before turning and heading back up the stairs.

"I heard about the party." Amanda said quietly, not removing her eyes from the ever shrinking image of Rinsi walking dejectedly up the stairs to her room. "Did she really start glowing?"

"Yes." Her uncle said simply as he raised his paper once more to read it. "But don't repeat it to anyone."

"And Mrs. Hathaway?"

"She's fine." Her aunt said, "You know how she loves to cause drama. She merely fainted, and everyone thought she was dead."

"I never did like that woman. Miss Ruth-"

"Ruth, please dear. I believe I've mentioned before you can just call me Ruth."

"I'm sorry. Ruth, did you really tell her to 'shut her fat mouth'?" Amanda said with a note of amusement in her voice, though she struggled to hide it.

"I did, and she did." Ruth said, sipping at her coffee.

"Bravo, I say! I think it's about time someone told her what they really think of her and put her in her place."

"Just don't forget your place." Ruth warned gently.

"I apologize. If you have nothing for me to do immediately, I do believe the piano is due to be tuned today, so I must arrange for someone to come and tune it."

"Ah, you are on the ball as always." Ruth said, trying to praise the girl, "I hadn't realized that time had come so soon. Thank you, Amanda."

Meanwhile, Rinsi lay on her bed, curled into a fetal position as she hugged her pillow to her still aching stomach. It was badly bruised, but that was all. The real pain now was a type of nausea caused by being very emotional, which she was right now. She buried her face into her soft pillow as tears began to escape the prison of her eyes and roll down the side of her face and across the bridge of her nose. She still couldn't get over how all of her friends, her family members outside of her aunt and uncle, and even her boyfriend had called her a monster simply because she started to glow. At the same time, she was very confused. She didn't know what caused the glowing, or what it meant. Why did this have to happen to her? Why did she have to glow, and why on her birthday? Why not when she was alone, where no one would see?

Hours passed and Rinsi didn't even notice it. The last thing she remembered was crying into her pillow until she exhausted herself, and now she found herself still on her bed, curled into a ball with a tear-soaked pillow in her arms, and someone was at her bedroom door.

"Who is it?" she said groggily.

"Rinsi," said the person behind the door, "you have a visitor."

"I don't want any visitors right now. Please tell them thank you for visiting, but I wish to be alone right now."

"Yes, I've done that already, but he insists on speaking with you. He's a special guest. I think he can help you."

* * *

**Author's notes:** Okay, I know this is different, and I know you're wondering, "Where are the X-men?". Well, this story is told from the point of view of someone in the same world, but a different academy. To make sure you all don't lynch me, I will have some guest appearances of certain X-men later in the story, but I'm not telling you when or where. ;)

I decided to write this story because I needed one for my new RPC, Rinsi Starlight, and I heard a song that made me think of a good scene for her. 8D I'm a dork and I know it. Please don't hate me for this, I've never written a fanfic before. All my stories have been ones that I created from my own imagination, and not based on any book, anime, manga, cartoon, television show, etc. In fact, I have difficulty trying to keep OC's with their character as displayed in whatever media they came out in. So in a way this isn't really a FAN fic, but since I will have some guest appearances here and there (and they WILL have a role in the story line, so don't you worry!), it kind of is.

Also, as of right now I do not have a Beta tester. Please email me if you want to Beta test for me, complete with your own review of this chapter as well as your thoughts on how I might improve it.


	3. Visitors

He had 'seen' her presence. He knew that she was special, even in terms of his current students. He knew she had something that no one else had, and if used improperly, or in the wrong hands, it could cause more chaos, and that was the last thing he wanted. Finding her telepathically wasn't hard – after all he was the strongest telepath he knew. Finding her address was a bit more difficult, though, in spite of the fame that surrounded her family. Her history was even harder to find. It seems that, whatever happened, they didn't want many people to know about it. It was probably for good reason, but still he had to know. However, no amount of studying and research would show him what he really wanted to see: her personality. With a gift such as hers, it could easily be turned around for evil purposes, and he wanted to make sure she wasn't the type to do that. Call him a goody-goody, but he couldn't stand the thought of more chaos than there already was. All he wanted was peace, and he was sure she was the only one who could bring it.

"Professor, are you sure she's the one?" said the young man in the drivers seat of the disabled fan he was currently a passenger of.

He could see the young man's reflection in the rear-view mirror and didn't need to see his handsome face – plagued only by a simple visor covering his eyes - or read his mind to see how uncertain he was.

"I'm quite sure." He said simply, adding in a smile as if to assure him more.

"I've never known you to be wrong, but…"

"You think because she comes from a wealthy family that she'll be a spoiled rotten brat?"

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to."

"For richer or poorer everyone has their good side and their bad side."

"Right." The young man said quizzically.

The van pulled to a stop along side an immaculately trimmed yard, with immaculately trimmed grass and immaculately kept trees and flowers. It was as if the place ran on perfection, and the yard was perfection itself. They both secretly wondered if the inside of the large, cream colored house that lay beyond the yard was just as immaculate. No doubt it would be, as these rich types had to have everything perfectly manicured, from their yards to their houses to their hands and hair. The young man flipped a switch and the passenger side door slid open on its own, pulled open by a motor. Out slid a platform on which he rolled his motorized wheel chair onto and waited as the platform lowered him onto the end of the driveway. He could hear the motor running to pull the ramp up and slide the passenger door shut as the drivers side door shut as well. The young man followed him up the drive way, and was a bit surprised to find a make-shift ramp covering the front steps so that they would have access. The young man pressed the doorbell, though couldn't really hear one, and wondered if maybe it was broke. However, a moment later a young woman with tanned skin dressed in black slacks and a white blouse answered the door.

"Professor Xavier, Mr. Summers, welcome. Please, come in." she said, smiling and standing aside.

"Yes we are." The older man said, smiling back as he rolled inside the luxurious looking house, followed by his young friend, Scott. "It is good to see you, Amanda."

"It's been a while." She replied. "How is everything?"

"The school is doing well. Is Rinsi in?"

"She is, but she doesn't want any visitors today."

"I know." Professor Xavier said, a welcoming smile still plastered on his wrinkled, but kindly face.

Indeed, he had known from the beginning. He could hear the questions storming her mind, and he could almost see the chaos and confusion that was clouding it. And it was no wonder! Such a disaster on her eighteenth birthday would drive anyone to be a recluse. However, if she were to be left alone to sulk, it would only turn into bitterness and hatred towards those who were not gifted, and that would be counter productive to everything. No, she could not be allowed to form that bitterness or hatred.

"If you knew she didn't want company, why did you call us?" Scott inquired, crossing his arms across his well-built chest.

"Because I know what she is now, and I know that Professor Xavier has been looking for her. I also know that he is the only one that can break her out. I am her friend before I am her servant. I don't want her to be like I almost was. I will go get her now."

Sighing, Rinsi stood slowly and began to undress. If they were going to be obstinate, she really had no choice but to show her face and tell them to go away. However, she couldn't really do that and be taken seriously if she was wearing her pajamas. So, she quickly changed into a pair of comfortable jeans and an emerald green turtleneck sweater. She had no make up so there really wasn't much she could do about the swelling and bruising on her face. She ran a brush through her hair a little, just to straighten out some of the mess, but didn't bother tying it back. Putting her slippers back on, she trudged down the stairs in agitation, wondering just who was going to bother her this time, while at the same time being afraid of who might be calling on her, and what they were going to do.

Upon reaching the rather large living room, furnished with comfortable looking couches and recliners that matched, she found a young man who looked to be in his mid or early twenties, with medium brown hair and a visor over his eyes standing behind an older, balding man in a wheelchair. At first she thought they might have been from the local nursing home and that the older man was in the midst of dementia and thought this was his home. However, the young man with the visor didn't seem right. People didn't wear visors like that over their eyes.

"Who are you?" she asked, albeit a bit more curtly than she would have wanted.

"My name is Professor Xavier." The older man said, "And my friend here is Scott Summers. We'd like to visit with you for a bit."

"I don't want visitors. Please go home."

"Why is that?" Xavier said, "Is it possibly because you are afraid? Of what, I wonder?"

"Amanda!" she said, turning to her tan friend, "Did not auntie and uncle say not to say anything?"

"She told us nothing." Xavier said, still smiling.

"Then how do you know if I am afraid or not?"

"The bruises on your face are pretty clear indications." Scott said wryly.

Rinsi flushed red. Just who were these people and what gave them the right to be so rude? But before she could say anything, she was interrupted by Professor Xavier.

"Oh, we were not meaning to be rude. However, we cannot leave just yet."

"Why not? The door is right there." Rinsi said, motioning towards the front door.

"Rinsi, please do not be so rude." Amanda said, this time scolding her.

"Why don't you all just leave me alone?" Rinsi practically screamed.

"Oh, but you don't want that. It was people leaving you alone that made you feel the way you're feeling now. Hurt, lost, confused. Of course, their harsh words were hardly any help." Professor Xavier said confidently.

Rinsi stopped dead in her tracks, and paled noticeably. She could understand if maybe Amanda had told them exactly what happened, as was told her by her aunt and uncle, and that they had lied about her not telling them anything, but that didn't explain how he knew so perfectly how she was feeling at that moment. Not only that, but when she had left to go back to bed that morning, she over heard Amanda telling her aunt and uncle she had heard about what happened. Just how did she find out anyway? Surely no one from the party would want anything to do with them any more.

"Amanda was once one of my students." Xavier explained, as if to answer her mental questions before she could ask them. "Her main ability is to form and control fire, but she is also slightly telepathic."

"So…when she said she heard about what happened….she read my mind?"

"A little." Amanda said sheepishly, "I am sorry miss! I had to know what happened. I couldn't stand seeing you bruised up and not knowing what happened to cause it."

"She was…your student…So you are telepathic too?"

"Yes." Xavier said simply.

"That explains a lot. What about Mr. Summers."

"Just call me Scott." He said, trying to sound friendly, though frankly he was getting impatient with her temper tantrum. "Or call me Cyclops if you prefer."

"Why call you Cyclops?"

Scott didn't say anything. He merely tapped his visor, as if to silently say that his ability affected his eyes. Or eye. Whatever was behind that visor.

"So, then why are you here?"

"Amanda called us. We were wondering when you were going to realize your gift, but we didn't expect it this early." Xavier said. "Starlights are late bloomers, not really realizing their gifts until sometime in their eighteenth year. You're the only one in Starlight history to have realized yours this early."

"Wait…Starlight history? You mean…it runs in the family? But why didn't my auntie or uncle tell me about this?"

"We wanted you to live a normal life as long as you could without being burdened by the fear of what will happen in the future." A kind voice said behind her.

Rinsi hadn't realized her aunt and uncle were behind her. She hadn't heard them approaching. Hearing her auntie suddenly talk behind her made her jump a little. She spun around and glared at her auntie.

"It's a little late for that, don't you think? Did you really think that nothing bad would come of not preparing me for something like this? This is something you tell someone if you know it will eventually happen. It's right up there with telling your daughter about her period before it happens!" Rinsi practically screamed.

Her auntie and uncle did not flinch when she screamed. She very rarely even raised her voice, so it should have been a surprise, but when they mutually agreed to wait to tell her, they knew something like this would happen, so they were prepared.

Tears spilled down Rinsi's face, and she was powerless to stop them. Wasn't it enough she was a monster? Wasn't it enough that all of her friends, even the man she loved, left her high and dry as soon as she seemed even the slightest bit abnormal? Wasn't it enough that she had been beaten up for something she didn't even do? Apparently it was not. It seemed the fates deemed it insufficient, and threw in being betrayed by her friend Amanda and her auntie and uncle.

"That's exactly why Amanda called us." Professor Xavier said calmly, as if unaffected by her temper tantrum. "She knew you hadn't been prepared, and that we can help you."

"What makes you think you can help me?"

"I have helped your friend Amanda, and your parents were once my students as well. Your family is the oldest known generation of mutants, and in order to survive they kept it hidden. It's time now that you come out of hiding and show the world what you can do."

"And just what is that? What can I do besides glow and cause chaos?"

"Oh, that's not even the tip of the ice berg. We want to teach you what your true potential is, but our school right now is over flowing. We have a sister school in western Oregon, run and operated by some of my finest alumni, and we are here to extend an invitation for you to attend."

"I graduated high school a couple years ago, and I don't have a license to teach, so what good can I do there?"

"You can learn about yourself. If you want, you can even teach. We're looking for a good literature teacher, and your aunt and uncle told us about your fascination with books."

Rinsi stood silent, deep in thought. It was tempting to go. She wanted to find out why she was glowing, what it meant she could do, and so much more. She wanted to get away from everyone that had hurt her that night, but at the same time she was concerned with her current studies.

"Oh, I've nearly forgotten." Xavier chimed in, derailing her train of thought momentarily, "You're in college, aren't you? You're studying to be a doctor. Unfortunately, we don't have the classes you need there, but I think we can arrange for you to take a break for a while, and then go back to your studies."

"Will that affect my chance of becoming a doctor?"

"With your grades I should hardly think so."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Well, now we finally get to see some of the REAL characters, right? Two of them, at least. What's this? It seems Rinsi's family has a history of being 'gifted' and she doesn't know at all! Even her friend/house maid?! My, oh my, dear Rinsi, you need to learn!

Don't worry, more characters will be showing up, just you wait and see.

To those of you who were in the RP thread this was based off of, I'm so sorry! This story is going to be quite different, though in a lot of respects still the same. I had to! This is a place of fanfics, and to keep from getting lynched I had to make it an X-men fanfic...sort of....Anyway, some similarities will show up soon, so please be patient!

Also, I'm still in need of a beta tester! email me all you lovely beta testers out there!


	4. Lost!

Rolling hills and snow-capped mountains surrounded her on all sides. The scene itself was awe-inspiring, with emerald green hills covered in various deciduous and non-deciduous trees carpeting most of them. Since it was early spring, most of the deciduous trees were in flower, adding contrasts of pink and white blossoms against the deep green that surrounded everything, and that was just where the trees were concerned. Flowers carpeted the ground, coloring it all the shades of the rainbow. If she hadn't known better, she would have thought this was a scene painted by a VERY talented artists. However, this was no painting. This was real. Because of the flowers, the air smelled sweet, and since it was still mid-morning, the air was crisp and cool.

Rinsi smiled to herself, admiring the beauty of the Willamette Valley that surrounded her. More specifically, it was the school. The building was humongous! Why shouldn't it be? After all, it was a school. The building itself was cream colored, surrounded by flowering bushes and trees. The front lawn was expansive, trimmed with flowers and bushes, and perfectly manicured. The lawn itself was dotted with students meandering about, some sitting next to trees or in the sun as they ate their lunches, which were either home packed, or bought from the cafeteria. She was mildly surprised that some of the students didn't really look like they were human, due to their own special gifts. However, this didn't last long, since before arriving she took time to study as much as she could on various gifts and their effects.

As Rinsi walked along the long driveway that leads to the school, she couldn't help but look around warily. Granted, she had, for the most part, gotten over the events of her birthday party. She had always been good about getting over difficulties quickly. Still, there was some remnant of fear and distrust left over. Still, she was pleasantly surprised when some of them smiled and waved at her, rather than looking at her in fear and disgust. Rinsi gave a small smile and wave back to those who greeted her, and continued into the main building of the school.

The main building itself was huge, and very much like a maze to her. The halls were painted a pristine white, and had various bulletin boards posted here and there. The floor was a meticulously kept tile floor that was a pale green in color. It was a new place, and it was kept very tidy. However, she always had a bad sense of direction, and knew she would be lost within five minutes. This was fine by her, since she also loved to explore, and figured that exploring would be fun, and a good way to find her way around later. After all, she had all day to find her classroom and get things set up as she needed them. Finding her dorm would be another thing all together, but she could do that later.

_Hm, my classroom is 121_, she thought to herself, _I wonder which direction that is in._

Rinsi looked around, and saw something small and square in shape on the wall at the end of the hall. When she approached it, she found it was a plate on the wall, showing numbers and an arrow pointing down the adjacent hallway. It was a way of telling students and teachers that certain classrooms were down that hallway, much like hotel rooms in a hotel, or patient rooms in a hospital. The sign she was looking at had rooms one through twenty-five in that particular direction. Looking around she saw a similar sign on the opposite wall, telling her that rooms twenty-six through fifty were in the other direction. Since the building itself was only three stories, she thought maybe there was another building behind it, or that there were not many more classrooms after hers. If neither option was the case, then there were more classrooms beyond those hallways. That being thought, she headed towards the opposite hallway, labeled as twenty-six through fifty. If she was lucky, her classroom would be on this floor, and relatively easy to find.

As Rinsi wondered down the halls, she saw only one person in the hallway. It was a young man, who looked to be about sixteen years of age. He had dark hair and eyes, with chiseled features that made him look quite handsome. He seemed to look at her closely, as if deciding what to do. For a moment she was afraid, but when he smiled and approached her, she was put at ease.

"You look lost." He said, his smooth, velvety voice melting her just a bit.

"I kind of am." She said sheepishly. "I'm trying to find my classroom."

"Which room are you in?"

"I'm in room number one hundred twenty-one."

"That's on the third floor. Each floor has fifty classrooms. Follow me; I'll take you there."

"Thank you. I didn't expect this place to be so….huge."

"Why not?" said the young man as he headed for a stairway at the end of the hall.

"Well, I guess I didn't think there were that many gifted people in the world."

"Why shouldn't there be? Currently there are nearly seven billion people in the world. Out of that seven billion, or just under, it is estimated that at least twenty percent are gifted."

"Which means a lot of students. I get it now. You're pretty smart."

"Nah, I've just been attending here for a while now. Didn't you read the pamphlet?"

"Not yet…" Rinsi admitted sheepishly as she now followed him up the wide, sturdy steps to the next level.

The young man just rolled his eyes. Just who was this lady anyway? The way she spoke and carried herself made her seem like a teacher, yet she still knew nothing of the world of mutants, or what she called 'gifted' people. She was obviously still very new to all of this, as was evident already.

"By the way," he said suddenly as he lead her to the next set of steps, surprised that he wasn't feeling winded at all yet, "What's your name?"

"Oh, I'm sorry! I'm Rinsi Starlight. I'm the new literature teacher."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Ki'iro."

"Nice to meet you, too, Ki'iro."

The rest of the walk was relatively silent, with the exception of Ki'iro pointing out other classrooms she might need, as well as the library. Rinsi took special note of the library, since she knew she would use it a lot for her class, and for herself. When they approached her classroom, she could see through the window on the door that it was dark inside, however there was enough sunlight filtering in through the windows that she could see numerous desks and chairs all waiting to be filled with students. The dry marker board was freshly cleaned, and showed no signs of prior use. Her desk sat to the left of the board, and eagerly awaited her arrival.

"Thank you for your guidance, Ki'iro." She said politely, "If it's not too rude, may I ask why you are here?"

"Only if I get to ask you the same."

"That's fair."

"I'm here to learn how to control my abilities. Almost everyone here is the same way."

"What are your abilities?"

"I control shadows. What are yours?"

"I…don't know yet. I have so much to learn just yet, and I'm not sure where to begin."

"Don't worry about that. The other teachers are trained to be able to help people who know they are 'gifted' – as you put it – but don't know what their gift is just yet. You should talk to the principal about that."

"I will, thank you."

The sudden, loud ringing of a bell made Rinsi jump a bit, much to the amusement of Ki'iro, who just smiled at her. She certainly was attractive for a teacher, though he knew that he couldn't get close to someone like her. She was a teacher, after all, and such relationships were looked down on. Besides, he long since knew that people weren't safe around him, that even if she was younger and they could date, he would just make her unhappy. He brushed all thoughts of relationships aside and waved to her.

"I have to go now. That bell means class is going to start soon."

"Okay. Thanks again!"

And with that he trotted down the hall, headed for his next class which was on the lower level.

Rinsi pulled a key out of the pocket of the blue jeans she was wearing and inserted it into the lock on the door. She couldn't help but wonder what kind of students she would have. Would there be telepaths? If so, it wouldn't matter much, since her class had no specific right or wrong answers. Would there be super intelligent people? She hoped so!

After entering her classroom, she approached her desk and found on it a laptop computer waiting for her, as well as what looked like a ledger. The computer was plugged into the wall already, so all she had to do was open it and set it to how she needed it. She opened the ledger and saw a list of names with squares next to them, indicating days they would be in class. It looked to her like there wasn't much to do, except for gather the reading materials she would need and set up a syllabus. At least now she knew where her classroom was, so she would not get lost later, and thanks to the directions from Ki'iro, she now also knew the location of the library.

"Well," she said out loud, to no one in particular, "if I'm going to set up a syllabus, I need to get the books first.

It had taken a few hours, but Rinsi finally had chosen several books for the class to read. They ranged from Shakespeare, to Stephen King, to H.G. Wells, to Anne Rice. They ranged from all different eras of the written word, and all different genres of it. She wanted her class to have a wide variety of reading material. To restrict them to one era, or one style, was to rob them of the cultural and ethnic diversity of the written word, and to do that was a crime. At least, to her it was a crime. She could not bring herself to rob her students of the knowledge and fun of a variety of literature, though most of it was fictional. The hardest part of searching for reading material was restricting the number of books she assigned to her students. She doubted that she could get them to read fifty books or more in a mere three month term, on top of having to do work in other classes. It would just be too much for them.

"That's an aweful lot of books." A voice said from behind, making Rinsi jump a bit.

Rinsi turned around to find a young lady – who looked to be in her teens – with blonde hair and blue eyes. She had a pair of cat-like ears on the top of her head, though, and Rinsi wondered if that was just for show, or if they were real.

"Are you really going to read all of that?"

"Ah, no. I've read all of them already."

"Wow! You're a really fast reader!"

"No, I read them before coming here. These are the books I'm going to assign to my class. I'm Rinsi Starlight by the way. I'm the new literature teacher."

"Nice to meet you, Rinsi. I'm Nakya."

"Likewise." Rinsi said cheerfully, "May I ask, are those ears for real?"

"Yep! I'm a neko. A real neko, that is, and not some weird otaku who likes to dress up as one."

"Otakus are fun, though."

"Hm, I guess so."

"Are you the librarian in charge?"

"No, I'm a student. The librarian is over there."

Nakya gestured towards the opposite wall, where Rinsi saw a tall person who appeared to be blue and covered in fur standing behind a desk. He wore glasses and a pair of nice slacks, a nice white shirt, and a suit jacket. His appearance was surprising to her, but she quickly got over it. She carried the books over to the desk, nodding thanks to the neko girl on her way.

"May I help you?" the ape-like man said as she set the books on the desk, "I see we have an avid reader!"

"Be that as it may," Rinsi said cheerfully, "this is actually for my class."

"Hm, looks like you've got some very good choices. I'm Dr. Henry Phillip, or 'Hank', by the way. You can just call me Beast if you like. I'm the physics professor here, though I also work here in the library on my spare time." Said the blue ape man as he scanned the bar code that was on the inside of the back cover of the books, and stamped a date on them to show her when they were due, which was at the end of the term.

"No offense, but I think I like 'Hank' better. I'm Rinsi Starlight, the literature teacher. It is nice to meet you."

"None taken. I prefer 'Hank' myself. Here you go, they are all set. They are due at the end of the term."

"Don't you need a card from me or something?"

"Not at all. We already have you in our system, and since you are the literature teacher, your check out time is longer, since the books are being used for your class."

"I'm impressed. This place sure is efficient when it comes to getting people set up here."

"Thank you, we do our best."

Rinsi just smiled and slid the tall stack of books back into her arms to be carried to the classroom. Hank wondered if she would be okay carrying all of those books, but didn't say anything. She looked capable enough, and he was curious to see what she could do.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Well, things are a little slow going, aren't they? Don't worry, things will be moving along soon, so be patient okay?

For those of you from the thread this story is derived off of, DON'T HATE ME PLEASE! You will be in it, don't worry. I'm just setting things up right now. You'll begin to see the similarities soon! Don't you worry!

Also, I'm still in need of a beta tester. Email me all you beautiful beta testers out there!


	5. The Room Mate

Lost again. It had taken her all of five minutes to get that huge stack of books back to her classroom, and another ten or so setting up the classroom itself. Add to that twenty minutes to set up the syllabus and send it to the office to be printed, and in total it had taken thirty-five minutes, most of which was spent in her classroom. However, the moment she stepped out of her classroom – or so it seemed – she was lost again. She never had been good with directions and finding things. The thought crossed her mind to ask the headmistress of the school to print up a map of the school and post copies of it by the front door, but it was quickly dismissed. There was no need to put extra stress on the headmistress just to conform to her. Besides, though being lost was rather annoying, it was also fun. It meant more exploration, and she always loved that.

Rinsi had the basic layout of the main school building figured out already. That part was easy enough once Ki'iro showed her around. The other buildings, however, were different. To her, they followed no set pattern, or if they did it was one she had not recognized just yet. Every door looked the same, and while she could see numbers on the doors, she knew they were not what they seemed. She found that out when she found the number that was supposed to be her dorm room, and walked in on a young man who was getting dressed. After a quick apology, and an even quicker door slamming shut, she went on her way down the hall, deciding to try the next level. There, too, the numbers were the same, and unfortunately she had been so out of it during her quick debriefing due to mixed emotions and jumbled thoughts that she had not paid enough attention to what level she was on.

"Well, Mooney," she said, talking to a little black cat that was following her, and had always followed her wherever she went, "Here's hoping this is the right one."

Rinsi knocked on the solid wooden door before her. It bore her room number on it, or at least the one she was given and she hoped that it was her own. She would know soon enough, she supposed, as she would either walk in on another stranger, find it empty, or find it empty with all her suitcases strewn around, or possibly even some combination of the above. Without waiting for an answer, she stepped inside. There she found a blonde girl with cat ears on her head lying down on one of the beds. Her knee looked badly swollen, and she was accompanied by a young man who appeared to have dark hair, and red eyes. She should not have been surprised, since she was in a school of the gifted, but she was a little.

"Oh, dear! It seems you've injured your knee. Here, I'll heal that for you." Rinsi cooed, a broad smile on her face.

Any discomforting thoughts she had before were gone now. She knew she must be happy and cheerful in front of these people, because she knew that each and every one of them had been through something difficult because of their abilities, and she wanted more than anything to make things all right again. Even if it was something so simple as a smile, or healing an injured knee.

The girl with the cat ears just stared at her blankly for a moment. She seemed so….cheerful. Why was she so cheerful? How could anyone be so cheerful? Given how well she was dressed, she guessed the other woman was one of those spoiled brat rich kids that always got what they wanted, and never knew what the outside world was like. She scowled for a moment, though mostly because her knee was hurting her so badly from earlier.

"And how are you going to do that?" she snapped.

The girl was a bit surprised at her own voice. She hadn't meant to sound so angry, and instantly regretted it.

"I'm sorry." She said with a sigh, "I've had a rough day. I am Nakya, and this," she said, gesturing to the young man, "is Logan. I'd love it if you would heal my knee. There's supposed to be a dance tomorrow, and date or no date, I plan on enjoying myself."

"It's no problem." Rinsi said cheerfully, "We all have days like that. I don't really blame you, with your knee like that, though. Who knows? Maybe you can fit into one of my party dresses. Well, this IS a school of the gifted, which means everyone here has a gift. I'll show you one of mine."

Rinsi lay her hand on the Nakya's knee gently. She didn't want to hurt the girl, and that knee looked quite sensitive. She struggled a little, having just barely learned and got the hang of her ability to heal just before setting up her classroom, but she managed. She concentrated her energy to her hand that was on Nakya's knee, and watched as it began to glow softly. As it did, she focused her energy out of her hand, and into the injured and swollen knee. They both watched as the swelling dimmed to nothing, and the injury healed itself quickly.

No sooner had she finished than she heard the door open behind her. Turning, she saw Ki'iro standing in the doorway. She wasn't sure why he was there, but he was, and he looked a bit upset.

"Sorry, I'll talk to you later, Nakya." He said solemnly, "I didn't mean to intrude."

Just as quickly as he had arrived, he had left. Rinsi could only guess what that was all about, though she didn't have much to guess on. Seeing how solemn they both were, she figured they had argued earlier.

"I don't know," Nakya said skeptically, as though she hadn't seen Ki'iro, "You're a bit smaller than I am. But thank you for the offer!"

Rinsi turned back to Nakya, happy to see her standing, and, in fact, beaming now that she could put weight on her leg again.

"Better?" she asked.

"Much!" Nakya replied, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to find Ki'iro."

Before Rinsi could respond, Nakya was out the door and down the hallway. The girl looked about her size, maybe only half of a dress size larger than her, really. Already Rinsi had in mind the perfect dress for her, and it was in one of her bags. Her musing soon turned to the up and coming dance, which she had not heard of up to this point.

Her musing did not last long. Before it could get into deep thought, Rinsi realized that she had completely ignored Logan. In fact, she had been quite rude and hadn't even introduced herself to Nakya or Logan. She looked up to see that Logan was still standing where he had been, looking a little confused. She smiled at him, hoping he would smile back.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so rude. I'm Rinsi Starlight." She said, extending her hand for a handshake.

Logan's eyes darted about for a moment before he nodded his head. She wasn't sure what to make of it, but she ignored it as he took her hand and shook it. His hand was a bit cold, which surprised her, but she ignored that, too.

"No worries." He said simply.

Rinsi noted how his voice sounded almost musical. She liked how it sounded, and figured he must have been in a choir at one time, if he wasn't already. To not be in a choir with a voice that was so velvety as his would be a real shame.

"Oooooooh, you have such a nice voice!" Rinsi said cheerfully, "You should be in a choir."

Before she could say or do anything else, a loud yowl reached her ears. She looked down at the nicely kept hardwood floor of her dorm room to find Moonstar, her little black cat, sitting next to her feet. He was looking impatient, and she knew what that meant. It meant he wanted to be loved on, petted, and he wasn't going to wait. This in turn reminded her that her bags and boxes were still sitting around on her bed and on the floor, waiting to be unpacked.

"Right, I'm supposed to be unpacking. Oh, Logan, this is my pet kitty, Moonstar. I just call him Mooney for short."

Rinsi had been so enveloped in what she was doing that she had hardly noticed the door open once more, and Nakya step through it. In fact, when Rinsi looked to her room mate's bed – which was a little messy from her lying on it a moment ago – she found her room mate laying pieces of fabric over it.

"Oh, welcome back!" she said cheerfully to her room mate, "I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself earlier. I'm Rinsi Starlight."

"Nice to meet you!" Nakya said, looking a bit more cheerful than she had been earlier.

When Nakya looked at Rinsi's side of the room, she noticed a little black cat sitting by her feet, looking rather impatient. Stifling a squeal of joy, she knelt down to the black cat and began purring at it. When the cat purred back, she scooped it up into her arms and began petting it's glossy black fur.

"I just love cats!" she said cheerfully, "They're so pretty, and I'm more like them than anyone else I know."

Rinsi couldn't help but giggle at the sight. It was just so cute! The girl looked almost like a cat with her ears, and now that Rinsi got a good look at her she could see a tail swishing back and forth behind her, making her look even more like a cat. She glanced over to Logan, and couldn't help but notice that he was looking rather…uncomfortable. She wasn't sure if it was just being in the same room as two gorgeous girls such as herself and Nakya, or if it was Mooney. Come to think of it, until Mooney made himself known, Logan seemed to be just fine.

"Uh…" was all he said.

Logan looked like he was trying to come up with an excuse of some sort, something to tell her that would not offend. In truth, he was. He didn't like cats, but he was afraid that saying so might hurt her feelings somehow. He didn't want to lie about it, though. Rinsi just smiled at him comfortingly.

"It's okay. Not everyone likes the same animals." Rinsi said cheerfully.

"Some people just aren't cat people. Right, Logan?" Nakya followed up.

However, instead of comforting him, it seemed that their words only made things worse. His eyes filled with what look like distress, and all he could do was mutter a quick apology before nearly running out of the room. Nakya and Rinsi looked at each other and frowned a bit. They hadn't meant to upset him, but it seems their words backfired on them.

"Rinsi, do you want to do something? I need to do something, to clear my head…" Nakya said softly.

Rinsi smiled. She knew just what to do to help. After all, it had helped her whenever she was upset. She turned to the boxes that lay on her bed and began to dig through them.

"I have just the thing!" she said cheerfully as she pulled out various dresses and outfits and lay them on her bed neatly. "Well, a few things really, depending on your interests. Now, where did I put it?"

After a few more minutes of searching through her boxes, Rinsi pulled out a black case that was the size and shape of a violin or a small guitar.

"There you are my baby!" she cooed as she nuzzled the case affectionately, "I'm sorry baby. I hope the trip wasn't too rough."

This seemed to make her room mate laugh. Rinsi smiled, proud of herself for making her laugh. That was, after all, her intention. She didn't REALLY call her violin her baby, nor did she coo at it and act as if it was a person. She treated it carefully, sure, but she didn't treat it like most guys treated a brand new car.

"Do you think he likes me?" Nakya asked suddenly.

"Who, Logan?" Rinsi said, "Let's walk and talk. It's a beautiful day for a musical stroll."

Rinsi opened the door, and motioned as if she wanted Nakya to step through first. The girl stood and left the room, followed by Rinsi.

"I can't really tell whether he likes you or not." Rinsi said, "I'm not a mind reader, and when it comes to telling who likes who, or who is doing the flirting, I'm really rather dense."

"I'm the same way." Nakya said as they walked down the hallway, "I also cannot tell when someone doesn't like me. Just ask Ki'iro."

Nakya seemed to wince at his name, and Rinsi couldn't help but wonder if she liked the boy. It seemed like it, if she was reading what she said correctly. She felt kind of sorry for her room mate. Rinsi herself had been in that situation before, and knew it wasn't fun. However, the purpose of bringing her violin and for talking about such serious matters was not to bring anyone down, but to cheer her up.

"Well," Rinsi said cheerfully, "if you worry too much about it, you'll make yourself sick. Besides, I don't think he doesn't want to be your friend, and as your friend I can tell you he wouldn't want you to worry so much."

Nakya looked thoughtful for a moment, but then nodded and smiled a bit. What Rinsi said was true. Worrying was pointless, and only made things worse.

"Maybe we both can find dates for the dance today. You don't have to have feelings for someone to dance with them, right?"

A devious smile swept across Nakya's face, but just as quickly it had come, it was gone, as she realized something very important. She had forgotten to make her dress! She had even laid out the material on her bed, but hadn't touched it.

"I forgot to make my dress!" she exclaimed.

"That offer to wear one of mine is still open."

"But aren't you smaller than I am?"

"Only by half a dress size, I'm guessing. I have the perfect dress in mind for you."

* * *

**Author's Note**: Well, now things are starting to move! Now we see the similarities. What could have possibly happened between Ki'iro and Nakya? Well, that's something I excluded since I wasn't sure how to write it in or how pertinent it would be to the current story line. Sorry if it is a bit confusing!

Also, since I forgot to get permission from the person who role played as Logan - who, by the way, is NOT Wolverine, but a completely different character - we won't be seeing much of him, unfortunately. He's a cool person in the role play, but doesn't show up much. If I do get permission to use him in the story, he will show up more.

EDIT: I have just received permission from the person who plays as Logan. You'll be seeing a bit more of him later. ;)

Everyone who is in the thread this is based off of already knows what's going to happen next. However, I will make some sneak appearances of characters from the same role play but a year later, since they do want to be seen and I don't really blame them. Like I said before, things in the story will be a bit different from the role play, but for the most part they should be similar.

CALLING ALL BETA TESTERS! I need a beta tester. EMAIL ME PLEASE!


	6. Dance!

"Alright, class." Came a smooth, clear voice full of cheer, "Please make it back to your seats so I can take roll call."

The voices that buzzed in the small classroom slowly dimmed from a dull roar down to mere whispers as chairs screeched across the tile floor and bags were stuffed under desks and chairs. Youthful faces watched her as she picked up the class manifest and began reading names aloud. For each name that replied with a 'Here!', 'Present', or some sort of witty retort there was a check placed next to it. For each silent name the space remained blank as a reminder to check up on those students later.

After roll call, papers were passed out to each student that was present, soon followed by books. It was one book per person, but it was a copy of the same book.

"All right, now that we have our syllabus and learning materials, let's get down to business."

Green eyes scanned the classroom full of eager – or bored to death – students. Rinsi smiled as usual and began to write down a few things on the dry ink board behind her.

"Let's start with names. I know all of yours now, so I will tell you mine. I am Rinsi Starlight. Please, do not feel obligated to call me '' or anything like that. Just Rinsi is fine. Now, let's look at the syllabus."

Rinsi picked up a sheet of bright yellow paper that she had chosen out for the syllabus. She didn't need to refer to it, since she was the one who wrote it. She merely used it as a demonstration for the class. She raised the paper up so that the printing on the front could be seen.

"The assignments set for each day are NOT to be done in class. These are homework assignments to be done after class, but preferably not in another class, unless it is study time. Class work will consist of discussions based on the reading assignment from the previous day. Participation in these discussion counts towards your final grade, so I suggest you not be too quiet. Also, every week, on a random day, there will be a short quiz, so it's best you pay attention in class and in your reading.

There is going to be a mid-term project, which is, of course, due at mid term. This project is either performing in class or making a video of your version of your favorite book from this class. This means you will be divided into four groups, and each group is to COLLECTIVELY agree on a book, translate it into their own words or actions based on what they believe is going on, and then either perform it in class, or record a video of it to be shown in class. This project counts for half of your grade.

Now, about your grades. Each night, after your reading, you are to write a short summery of what you read. I don't expect five pages. Just a few paragraphs is good enough, but keep it over two paragraphs. I will collect them on the next class day, grade them that evening, and return them the next day. These reports, as well as class participation and attendance, count for a quarter of your grade. The rest is dependant on the mid-term and weekly quizzes. Are there any questions so far?"

Rinsi glanced around the room, looking for raised hands and listening for raised voices. All was quiet and still, until a hand shot up in the air. The person belonging to it was a young man with blonde hair and blue eyes. He had the classic pretty-boy face that Rinsi was sure had most of the girls fawning over him.

"Yes, Eric?"

"So, there's no reading in class?"

"No. This class isn't to see how well you can read, but to help you to understand what you are reading. In fact, I prefer that you not read in the classroom. Save it for later when you're in a setting you're more comfortable with."

"Why do that?"

"One pays more attention to what they are reading when they are in a setting where they are comfortable. Being in a classroom full of people is not what I would call a comfortable setting, and there are so many people that it would be distracting. I want your full attention on what you are reading."

Eric went silent, and another hand shot up. This time it was a young girl with black hair and dark eyes.

"Yes, Emily?"

"Will we be told when these quizzes are?"

"Not until I hand them out. That's the point of being random – no one will predict it. I want to be sure everyone is paying attention to their reading as well as classroom discussion."

"So, why are we taking this class?" A voice came from the back of the room.

"I know you may think your minds are open – and they are – but this will open your mind more. In essence, it will teach you to read between the lines."

"What if we already do?"

"True, that is easy enough to do on your own, but when other people are involved it throws in factors you do not account for. This is to open you up more, to account for the unknown. Anyone else?"

The room went silent. No one raised their hands or their voices, though Rinsi had the distinct feeling that some of the boys in the class room were checking her out. Perhaps it was just her paranoia.

"No one? Well, then let's move on to the next order of business. I'm going to hand out a sheet of paper where you can sing up to be in different groups. There are exactly as many lines on the sheet as there are students, so don't make any more lines. If the group you want to be in is full, tough luck. You'll have to go to another group. When you 're done, please hand it to the front of the classroom."

Rinsi picked up a sheet of paper from her desk and handed it to the person in the front row, right hand corner.

"Since there is no discussion for today obviously, we can discuss why we are here and what we can do. Oh, before I forget, there is a dance this evening in the cafeteria and everyone is invited. However, this does not mean you get away with not doing your assigned work. I expect your reports tomorrow morning."

Class had gone well, at least to Rinsi, and seeing all those bright young minds eager to learn and share what they learned made her smile. Her thoughts wondered briefly to her class that day as she wondered around outside the school buildings in the court yard. She had been summoned to the battle field for practice, but she didn't know where they were just yet. This suited her just fine, really. She hated to fight, even though she knew it would be necessary for self preservation and possibly for the preservation of those around her. This was, after all, a school of the gifted, and the gifted were viewed as 'monsters', 'outcasts', 'mutants', and 'freaks' by the outside world. She didn't like it, but she would deal with it anyway.

These thoughts, however, quickly melted away when her green eyes trailed upwards to the perfectly clear azure sky above her. The day was warm and sunny, and there was only a slight breeze that kissed her skin as it blew by. She smiled to herself, loving the beautiful weather and continued walking with the lantern that hung from her staff swaying back and forth peacefully.

"What a lovely day!" she said, though mostly to herself.

A small meow voiced from near her feet as her ever faithful feline friend seemed to voice his agreement with her statement.

Rinsi frowned for a moment when she quickly remembered why she was out there. She had been summoned to the battlefield to practice her abilities and learn how to use them. Granted, she had been briefed on it, and they showed her the basics of how to use her powers consciously, rather than randomly glowing without her own control as she had done before. Still, there was a lot they hadn't taught her yet, and said she needed to find out on her own with practice. Healing was easy enough, really. She figured that out quickly. However, her 'white magic' of sorts was different. She really didn't know what exactly she could do with it just yet, but wasn't against experimenting, so long as no one got hurt.

Shrugging her shoulders, she brought her hands together in front of her, almost as if she were forming a bowl with them. At first she examined them, but then she began to focus on them. Soon, they began to glow as they normally would if she were to heal someone. However, this glow seemed to take form in her hand, forming a sphere of light. She wasn't sure what this sphere could do, but she had a feeling it was something that, if not used properly or carefully, could do some damage.

She began to concentrate more, trying to figure out what it could do, when she remembered something: there was a dance that evening and she hadn't prepared for it. Like hell she'd miss it too! As soon as her concentration broke, the ball of light diminished quickly, leaving nothing behind. Rinsi took that as a free moment to go prepare.

Walking from the battle field to the main building didn't take long. They were practically right next to each other, and frankly the cafeteria inside the main building was her first concern. She didn't know what time the dance started, and she figured the best place for it would be the cafeteria. Lo and behold, she was right. As she approached the cafeteria, she could hear someone barking out orders amongst the hustle and bustle that was going on inside. She peeked in to find that all the tables and chairs had been packed away somewhere, and that tables had been set up where people were busily preparing food and drinks on them. On the other end of the cafeteria was a young man who looked like he was setting up musical equipment, though not necessarily any instruments. In the middle of the room was the same young man from earlier that had given her a tour of the place, or at least showed her the way to her classroom, and he was the one barking out orders. He was already dressed for the party, wearing a nice shirt and tie, and a pair of nice black slacks. She stepped into the cafeteria, thinking that they could use a hand. It certainly looked like it.

"It looks like you guys could use a hand." She said cheerfully.

The young man turned and looked at her. To Rinsi, he looked rather frustrated, and she began to regret asking. Still it was the right thing to do and she knew it.

"We don't need help right now," he snapped. "Sorry, just a little crazy right now. Dance is starting in a few minutes. Please wait outside the door for us to start."

"Okay then." Rinsi said cheerfully. She needed to get ready for the dance anyway.  
Rinsi trotted off to her room again. She had to find the right party dress. She wasn't one to wear make up, so she didn't really need to bother with it - not like she needed it anyway. She was beautiful without it, though a little body glitter and some perfume wouldn't hurt.

"I wonder if I should leave one out for Nakya anyway." she thought out loud. "She looks like she's about my size, if not a bit shorter."

After a moment of thinking, Rinsi laid out a dress she thought would look perfect on Nakya on her bed. She could only hope the girl would drop by to freshen up a bit for the party. She herself changed out of the cute jogging outfit she wore for training, and into a bright, yet soft yellow dress. The skirt had a slit up the side leading to her hip, making it easy to move in, and seemed to complement her perfectly sized rack. Though the black collar was separate, it seemed to compliment the dress as well. After lacing up her golden looking sandals over her white lace stockings, she slipped on her satin gloves and primped her hair a bit, smoothing it out in places it needed to be smoothed out. She once again grabbed her moonlight lantern staff and headed towards the auditorium.

As she made her way back to the auditorium, Rinsi noticed another girl wondering around. She was dressed all in black, but the dress she wore was flattering on her. Rinsi smiled and walked up to the girl.

"Hey, are you going to the party, too?" she asked cheerfully, leaning her staff on her shoulder. "If you're lost, I can lead you there."

The girl nodded at Rinsi, as if to signify that she was, indeed, lost, and could use some instructions. Taking that as the affirmative, Rinsi lead the way towards the cafeteria, which was growing more and more noisy as they approached. She supposed this was because more students were arriving since it was pretty much time for the party to start. The girl she had lead there ran before her shouting how magnificent the party was.

She smiled to herself as she entered the cafeteria, which was now decorated with streamers and a disco ball that dangled from the center of the ceiling, illuminated by a nearby light that changed colors every minute or so. The DJ was playing some music that was fairly loud – though not too loud – that had a nice beat that she could dance to. In fact, she was on her way to the dance floor when she heard the click of heels against the tiled floor behind her. Rinsi turned around to find Nakya approaching, wearing a shimmering silver dress she had picked out for her that had one strap going over her left shoulder, and a split in the skirt that lead up to her hip. The clicking came from the silver stiletto boots that she wore with the dress. Rinsi smiled to herself again.

"I knew that dress would look perfect on you, and I was right!" she said cheerfully.

Nakya smiled at Rinsi's compliment.

"Thank you so much!" she said as she glanced around the room.

_Though I wish Logan were here to see it._ Rinsi could hear a voice in her head. She was taken aback by this, but did her best not to show it. She had read about telepaths, but had never met one, so it was surprising to her a bit. She smiled at the girl, to show she felt no ill ease or will.

"So," Nakya said, still smiling, "have you seen any cute boys yet?"

"Oh, quite a few actually." Rinsi said, winking her eye slyly.

Rinsi smiled to herself and walked into the auditorium. Everything was so festive and lively that she could hardly contain herself. She walked into the middle of the dance floor and began to spin and twirl gracefully across the dance floor, being careful not to hit anyone with the lantern that dangled from her staff, which she had extended out as part of her dance. She smiled to herself as she danced. She was having so much fun! To top it all off, the joy she was experiencing seemed to radiate through her whole body, causing her to glow ever so slightly, only enough to be noticed by the most sensitive eyes. However, as she danced, Rinsi felt someone pulling on her arm. She was able to catch herself before falling, so she wasn't upset at all. She was merely surprised. Looking up, she saw it was Nakya who had grabbed her by the wrist, and was pulling her towards a table excitedly.

"Yumi, this is Rinsi, my room mate. Rinsi, Yumi." Nakya said once they arrived at a table at which a lovely young blond girl was sitting, dressed in a layered red and white dress that was absolutely gorgeous. Nakya then let go of Rinsi's wrist and plopped down on a chair next to Yumi. "I hope I get to dance with at least one boy tonight."

"Nice to meet you!" she said cheerfully, "I'm Rinsi Starlight. That's a really pretty dress, Yumi!"

"Hi!" Yumi said, smiling at the girl. "That's a beautiful dress," She complimented. "Oh, my name is Yumi. Nice to meet you. I thought I was really late to the dance, but I guess i'm about on time, huh? Hi Nakya! It's nice to meet you, Rinsi. And thank you. It was a gift from my mother."

"Ooooh, your mother has excellent taste!" Rinsi said happily as the girl from earlier that Rinsi had lead to the cafeteria joined them. "Luna, are you having fun, too? Everything is so much fun tonight, I can hardly contain myself. Who wants to dance?"

Jumping up when Rinsi asked who wanted to dance, Nakya said "I do! I might as well have some fun in case no boys show up."

Running out onto the dance floor, Nakya began moving her body to the beat. She closed her eyes, letting the music taking control of her. Her hips swayed and her arms seemingly floated around her. Spinning around, her skirt flew out from the slit and showed even more skin than before.

"You know, I would, but this dress is horribly warm, and I think i'm going to go change into something cooler." Yumi said, finding a chance to go. "Please excuse me. I'll be right back." Yumi rose and walked out of the auditorium, then up to her dorm.

"That's all I need to hear!" Rinsi said.

She strolled out to the middle of the dance floor, meeting up with her room mate who was having fun spinning and twirling, just as she had before. She wasn't afraid of dancing with another girl. Hell, her dance instructor had been a woman a few years older than herself. To her it was like dancing with a good friend and having fun.

Rinsi took Nakya by the hand, and spun her gracefully as she danced with her room mate, moving to the beat. She herself spun here and there, once again spreading out her arms and her lantern, which was now starting to glow a little.

"Hope you don't mind me dancing with you." Rinsi said cheerfully.

Grinning at Rinsi as she twirled her, Nakya replied "Not at all!"

Nakya loved dancing. It was the one thing she knew without a doubt she was good at. Everytime she danced, it was as if something, or someone, took her over. People were always trying to get her to teach them to dance like her, but she didn't know how to explain it. Slowing down as the song changed to a slow one, she again grabbed Rinsi's wrist with her tail, shouting over her shoulder "Let's got something to drink!"Running over to the refreshment table, she got herself and Rinsi a cup of punch. Holding it out to her, she released her tail and smiled.

"Good idea." Rinsi said, laughing a bit. She was having so much fun! However, all the dancing really took it out of her, and she found herself panting for breath and as thirsty as a traveler traversing the Sahara desert.

"Thank you." she said as she took the cup and drank from it thirstily, still smiling happily and still glowing softly. "You dance really well, Nakya."

Rinsi had seen a tall young man enter the auditorium, but she didn't recognize him. She was confused when he called her by name, but smiled anyway.

"Um, hello!" she said cheerfully, "Just out of curiosity, do I know you? I'm sorry if I've forgotten your name." she said bashfully, rubbing the back of her head.

"Ichio?" Nakya asked softly. Hoping he wouldn't realize that she was staring she quickly turned her eyes away from him. "Are you enjoying the dance?" she asked over the music, even though it was another slow song. Running her hand through her hair, she turned her gaze back to him, making sure she kept eye contact.

Ichio chuckled softly. "Well, you did meet me as a female. So it's understandable that you don't recognize me. I did say I was going to go change." He laughed. "I'm Ichio, as well as Yumi." He grabbed a drink, still smiling at the little trick he was playing.

"Oh, I get it now!" Rinsi said cheerfully, "You're a third gender! That's awesome! It must be confusing at times, but at least you can be your own date."

Rinsi really hoped that didn't sound like she was making fun of him. She wasn't trying to do so anyway, especially not in a place like this, where she had been sent to learn how to control her own abilities.

"Ooh, that's an interesting outfit. Are you a cosplayer?"

"Yeah, I am, actually. You're the first person to guess all of that correctly. Most people think I'm a shifter. I love cosplay!" Looking at Nakya, he replied, "Yeah, I'm having more fun than I was as a female, that's for sure." He laughed again. He couldn't remember ever having laughed this much. Setting his drink down, he asked, "Rinsi, would you mind if I took Nakya for a dance?" He offered his hand to Nakya. "May I?" he asked, smiling gently.

"Not at all." Rinsi said, smiling as she give Nakya a small push his way, "Have fun you two!" she said with a wink of her eye.

Rinsi walked back out to the middle of the dance floor and began to twirl and spin in her own graceful dance once more, causing the skirt of her dress to fan out a bit. She twirled and spun her lantern staff around her and above her as gracefully as a fairy as she soon started to glow again softly. She was having so much fun! As Rinsi danced an elegant and beautiful dance that her auntie had taught her as a child, spinning around as she spun her staff around, she began to glow more, now being somewhat noticeable to the average eye. It was the same as when she first discovered her powers. The same dance, the same joy, even the same light. The crescent moon lantern that dangled from the staff began to glow as well, just a little more brightly than she was glowing.

The more she danced, the happier she became - something others might think impossible given her cheerful attitude. The happier she got, the more she glowed, until a pair of ethereal looking wings made of pure light seem to sprout from her back. She was having so much fun!  
However, just then she heard a crashing sound. She spun around and saw a young man crash through a high window and fall to the ground. Not so much concerned with the window as she was with the person who fell through it, she trotted up to the young man and began to check for wounds, her ethereal glow and wings dimming slowly.

"Hey, are you okay?" she said, worried but still chipper.

Rinsi saw Nakya run over to her, obviously worried.

"Are you okay?" Nakya asked.

"Yes, I am fine. I was far enough away that the glass didn't touch me. Are you okay?"

Taking a deep breath, Ichio changed, becoming Yumi once more. This was going to tire her, eventually. Standing back up, Yumi stretched her arms to the sky, summoning the energy of the glass to her. The shards melted, one by one, and slid along the floor towards her. They climbed her baggy clothing, and converged at her fingertips, flattening and broadening until they formed a single pane. She pulsed energy into it, until the pane began to glow and sag, then forced it up, higher and higher, till it was flush with the broken area. Yumi threw her hands forward, so the pane slammed into the break, sending the entire window aglow. It was fixed, and now was glowing a soft yellow. Yumi sagged, her breath heavy with exertion. Changing back to Ichio, he knelt on the floor for a moment, collecting his exhaustion and stowing it away inside Yumi. She'd sleep for a long time, but for now, Ichio was fine. Standing, he walked back to Nakya, looking at the being that'd just flown through the window.

"And I suppose that was your grand entrance, then?" he yelled at the guy, who'd gone to meet one of the girls.

Seeing Ichio and Nakya take care of the situation, Rinsi went looking for people who might have been injured from the falling glass. There were a few scrapes, but nothing too serious. It was nothing her healing powers couldn't take care of quickly, though it did take quite a bit out of her since she still had no control over energy consumption in that area yet.

After she was all done, she encouraged others to get back onto the dance floor and have fun by stepping up herself. She was very tired now, but she wanted to dance more, and she wanted to know that warmth and peace she felt while dancing the only dance she knew of that could create the glow that came from such happiness. She wanted to know that happiness again, even though she was happy enough on her own. Even if it meant she passed out later from exhaustion, at least she could sleep well that night and still have fun.

Rinsi once again began to spin and twirl both herself and her staff. It took a few moments longer this time, but once she got going she began to glow softly again, filling her with a warmth and peace she wished everyone could know, and not just herself.

Rinsi liked the beat of the new song that began to play not long after she started dancing. It was an upbeat tempo that almost demanded that she step up her moves, almost begging for her to spin and dance faster. She couldn't very well deny such a song its longing plea, and began to speed up her dance a little bit, keeping to the beat of the song. She began to glow a little brighter, and though she didn't know it consciously, deep down inside her sub conscious she knew that her wings would soon appear again, promising supreme happiness for her and - if she could ever learn to control it - everyone else in the room. Right now, she was content with the dance that brought the ethereal glow to her fair skin and brightened her already joyous smile.

As Rinsi danced, she began to glow a little more brightly. She loved this feeling and wished she could bring it to everyone in the room. Such peace and joy! The whole world should be filled with it!

As her joy increased - joy brought from the dance she was doing and increased by the power within her that reacted to joy and enhanced it - ethereal wings began to unfold from her back once more, glittering and glowing with their own power as the glow took over her own body. She was so happy she thought she would burst, so she concentrated her happiness to the lantern on her staff, which began to glow brighter than ever.

Ki'iro handed everything back off to the DJ who continued to play. He made his way back down to the dance floor and joined Rinsi. He smiled brightly at her. She looked so extremely happy and beautiful. He lipped the words "Mind if I join you?" to her and waited for a reply. Ki'iro began dancing, another thing he loved to do. He wasn't the greatest, but he definitely didn't have two left feet. Shadows whipped up at Ki'iro, though they were not threatening. The glow around Rinsi and the shadows around Ki'iro morphed together, flicking at each other.

"Not at all." Rinsi said happily.

Rinsi took Ki'iro by the hand and began to dance with him, dancing and twirling as she concentrated her joy to her lantern staff, causing it to glow more and more. She watched the shadows and the light dancing together on the floor and couldn't help but giggle. Everything was so much fun! Even the shadows and the light seem to have fun and dance together.

_  
_"Starlight, that suites you," he commented, referring to her last name, "You're very aglow tonight." He laughed. The shadows around him danced quicker as he turned with her and danced. "May I call you Star? It seems to suit you very well," he said. His dancing pace picked up as the song changed. "I love this kind of music! It's probably my favorite." Ki'iro's face was so bright and happy at this moment, all his worries were gone. He noticed a girl sitting in the corner of the room and he motioned for her to come and join them in their dancing.

"I don't mind at all." Rinsi said happily as the lantern began to glow more with her dance, and her bright ethereal wings began to grow in size. "You have good taste in music. I can really dance to this!"

In spite of her panting for breath already and her quickly draining energy, Rinsi was having so much fun that she could not stop. Normally by this time she would have stopped, as her auntie had warned her to, but she found she was having so much fun that she couldn't stop no matter what. And as the dance continued, she found two words echoing through her mind, growing louder and louder, as if begging for her to utter them. Finally, she gave in. Lifting her lantern high in the air while holding the bottom of the staff with her other hand.

"STARLIGHT!" she announced just as the song ended.

At the uttering of those very words, the lantern at the end of her staff glowed so brightly that it seemed to fill not just the auditorium, but the campus itself. With this light - which pierced not only the shadows, but directly into people's hearts - came an intense joy and peace that had never been known before, not even to Rinsi herself, and it was this joy that filled even the deepest crevasses of everything in the campus.

As the glowing dimmed, Rinsi finally realized how tired she was. She hadn't known, and still didn't know, that the dance she just did was a secret spell passed down in her family, a spell to bring supreme happiness to everyone around her. It was a very large spell that sucked up a lot of energy from her, and left her feeling very weak. She was almost gasping for air, and beads of sweat were dripping down her face. She suddenly felt so weak that she couldn't stand on her own. She brought her staff down - perhaps a little harder than she should have - and held on to it with both hands, using it to hold her up as she panted for air.

"Heh...heh...heh..." she said between gasps for air, almost at a whisper, "Ooops....Now I know...why auntie didn't want me to finish that dance..."

"Are you ok?!" Rinsi could hear someone nearby saying. "You look terrible, you need help. Do you know where the infirmary is, I'm new here so I don't."

Rinsi wanted to keep dancing, in spite of her exhaustion. She was still in the middle of the dance floor, grasping her staff for dear life to hold her up underneath her incredibly weak legs. She even tried to dance, to move at the very least, but her body wouldn't let her. She had spent all of her energy, and could feel a sense of unease wash over her as darkness seemed to creep into her vision. Had the spell failed? Had the happiness she had tried to spread to everyone somehow missed all of them? Why weren't they smiling?

Rinsi did her best to try and pull herself up on her staff more, but her body was still unwilling, and the darkness in her vision was only drawing closer. She knew she was about to pass out, but she didn't want to. She stubbornly tried to force it away by gathering up what little energy she had left, but she had none to gather up. She noticed the new girl was nearby, but her voice sounded far away, and growing farther. She tried to look up at the girl, but she couldn't even do that.

_I'll have to thank her later and get her name,_ she thought to herself as the darkness closed in even more,_ I just hope she isn't too worried._

"Damn...." she whispered to herself as she knew she couldn't fight it any more, "I must have...failed...."

Rinsi sank to her knees in the middle of the dance floor, unconscious before her knees landed. The only thing holding her up was the staff she so stubbornly leaned against.

* * *

**Author's Note:** tl;dr, I know. Sorry about that! In this part of the thread, there was a dance, and I didn't want to split it between chapters, so I put it all together into one chapter.

Sorry if it seems confusing, like parts don't add up. They were copy/pasta'd from the rp thread. I had to skip some posts and some parts of posts because if I did not, it would make even less sense. Sorry! There are no X-men in this one. Dun lynch meh! I'll sneak them into the next chapter, I swear!


	7. Waking

Bright green eyes opened to a world of white walls and a sterile stench. She didn't know where she was at first, or why, and it almost scared her. Almost. She looked around a bit to see a nurse walking around and some medical equipment nearby.

_I must be in the nurse's office_. She thought to herself. _How did I get here? I wonder what happened?_

Closing her eyes for a moment, she slowly began to remember. She had been dancing a forbidden dance, one that her auntie told her never to complete, but she didn't listen. This time, she completed the dance, and ended up casting a huge spell that drained her of all her energy. One of the students at the dance must have brought her here.

Rinsi sat up slowly, still feeling really weak and tired, and almost passed out in the process. She stubbornly fought back the ensuing unconsciousness, and this time she won. Her head throbbed a bit and she felt incredibly weak. She wanted to go back to sleep, but was afraid her room mate would worry about her. Plus she had to find that girl that she saw a mere moment before passing out and thank her.

"Whoa there, cowgirl." Rinsi heard a familiar voice say from behind her.

Rinsi turned and saw the usual warm smile she had come to love seeing on Ms. Grey's face.

"Take it easy. You caused quite a ruckus with that spell of yours and it looks like it drained you pretty badly."

"Yeah, it kind of did." Rinsi said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head.

"We'll get you a substitute today, so don't worry about class."

"But the sub won't know what is going on or how I run things..."

"Don't worry about it. Just hand me a copy of your syllabus and we'll figure it out from there."

"Okay..." Rinsi said resignedly, "Its in the top middle drawer of my desk. It's bright yellow, so you can't miss it."

Ms. Grey seemed to be satisfied with that. With a smile and a nod, she turned and left the room, her fire red hair swaying back and forth lazily behind her crisp, cool steps.

Rinsi dragged herself out of the bed slowly, making sure she wouldn't pass out in the process, and noticed she was still in her evening dress. She looked around a bit, wondering where her staff was. She was about to ask, when she noticed it leaning against the wall near her bed. She grabbed it and used it for support as she slowly made her way back to her dorm room, where she could at least change into something more comfortable. She could rest later; for now she was content with trying to find that girl, and then Nakya. She wouldn't train today, though. She had too little energy to do so.

_Well_, she thought to herself, _I guess this means I get a day off. I wonder if my spell worked at all?_

Rinsi managed to make it back to her dorm room in spite of her weary state. She took a hot shower, hoping it would energize her a bit more, and changed into a cute teal jogging suit. Though she wasn't going to train her powers today, she would at least make use of her time and get some practice in on her martial arts. It was a good thing her aunt and uncle decided she needed those lessons. It had saved her on a few occasions after every one found out what she was.

Just as she was about to leave the room to go practice, a familiar voice reached her ears.

"Rinsi! You're okay!"

Rinsi turned to see Nakya - who was wearing a cute little black dress that made her look almost like a doll - not only entering the room, but pouncing her in joy. She wasn't sure why the girl was so excited to see her, unless of course she had worried about her. Rinsi had been taken by surprise. In her tired state that was not hard. When Nakya ran up to her and practically glomped her, she fell over with a soft _THUD!_ She winced a bit as the hard floor met with her rear and back, but otherwise was ok.

"Well, nice to see you, too Nakya!" she said laughing.

"Hey, Rinsi." She heard a familiar voice say in the doorway.

Rinsi turned to see a young man standing there. She thought for a moment, not recognizing him at first, before realizing it was actually Ichio who was greeting her. He looked different when he wasn't in his cosplay outfit, which she thought looked rather nice on him.

"Hi, Ichio!" she said cheerfully, "How are you guys today? Did my spell work last night?"

"Rinsi, do you mind if I come find you later? Ichio and I need to talk." Nakya said.

As she said Ichio's name, she glanced at him and gave a shy smile.

"Oh?" Rinsi said inquisitively.

It took a moment to register, but when it did, she smiled broadly, and even gave Nakya a sly wink.

"Go get 'em, tiger." she said enthusiastically as she gently shoved Nakya in Ichio's direction.

"I'll be in the training grounds, practicing hand to hand if you need me."

Rinsi watched with satisfaction as Nakya took Ichio by the arm and lead him down the hallway. In a way she kind of envied them. It was obvious they liked each other, from the look on their faces. Seeing it reminded her of how much she missed her own boyfriend, and at the same time reminded her how much he had hurt her that night. She began to wonder if maybe there was someone out there for her who would accept her for who she was, and not turn their backs on her when they found out what she could do. Still, she was too much of an optimist to dwell on the matter, and decided to shove the thought aside for now. She had training to do.

After practicing for an hour or so, Rinsi was tired. However, she was determined to do something productive and keep herself in shape, so she went for a short jog. She really wasn't fond of jogging, but it got her heart rate up and burned fat. Besides that, it gave her a chance - even though it was only brief - to view the beautiful landscapes that surrounded the school. She just had to drink extra water afterward and cool off quickly before the over heating in her body made her sick.

After her jog, she took a quick shower to wash off the sweat and changed into a cute, but expensive looking pants suit and decided she would go off into the woods and practice her violin. She loved doing so out in the open, where few people were around. The sound of her violin mingling with the forest life was always calming to her, and she loved it. That wasn't even mentioning the scenery, which consisted of various hues of deep green that she loved and that covered everything from grass to trees to bushes. Nor did it mention everything else that the senses could take in, such as the cool, damp air and the sweet smell of flowers from bushes and trees being in blossom.

Rinsi stood by what looked like a shimmering lake in the middle of the forest that lay just beyond the training field of the school, smiling peacefully as she held her eyes closed and let the music she played on her violin flow through her. The song was soft and slow, but peaceful, almost loving. It was a lullaby her mother sang to her as a child, and it filled her with peace and joy. Had she not spent herself the night before, she would have been glowing again as the lullaby she played was yet another spell, though she didn't know it. The song filled her very soul with a peace and joy that she missed, in spite of her positive outlook.

Rinsi had been playing her violin when she could hear someone singing faintly in the distance. Their voice was soft and sweet, and vaguely familiar. Thinking it could be the girl from the night before, she followed the voice, and found herself correct.

"Hey, there!" she said to the girl, "Thank you for last night."

"You're welcome." She looked at her feet embarrassed she had heard her singing. She had a bad case of stage fright, and what people might think of her.

"I'm Kira, by the way." She said finally looking up to her

"It's nice to meet you, Kira." Rinsi said cheerfully, though terribly tired in reality, "I am Rinsi Starlight. I'm sorry I caused you so much trouble last night. I had no idea that the dance I performed was a spell, let alone a powerful one. Anyway, you sing quite beautifully. Maybe you could make a duet with one of the other guys here." she said with a wink, "He's got a beautiful voice as well."

"Thank you, but I, uhh, I would like that." Kira said thankfully.

_What the hell were you thinking Kira, you'll die singing in front of people, stage fright remember?_ her head kept repeating.

"It's nice to meet you Miss. Rinsi-San." Kira smiled.

Rinsi couldn't help but giggle. This girl was so bashful it was kind of cute.

"Just Rinsi is fine." she said cheerfully, "You can even call me Rin if you like."

After talking to the girl who had taken her to the infirmary the night before and making yet another friend, Rinsi returned to her room and carefully put her violin away. She knew that the dresses that were worn from the party needed to be washed, but she could do that later. She was absolutely exhausted, and now covered in sweat from her practicing and jogging earlier. She quickly grabbed a towel and headed for the bathroom, hoping she wouldn't fall asleep in the shower.

The hot water felt good on her tired and already aching muscles. She supposed she had spent more energy than she realized, and now her body was bitching her out about it. The water felt so relaxing that it was a difficult battle just to stay awake long enough to get washed, dried, dressed and into bed. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out. Forget lunch and dinner, or whatever meals she had missed, she was down and out and was determined to get some good sleep before anyone could wake her up.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Okay, okay, I know. It's short and boring. Sorry! Don't worry, there's plenty of action in the next chapter, so stay tuned! :D Yes, I know. She took two showers in one day. She's a hygiene freak, so to speak, and she did a lot of sweating that day. Bad girl, Rin! You know better than to go play hard when you're so tired you're about to drop!

Also, I apologize if it is confusing for you to read. As I said, this is copied/pasted from the thread that this story originates from. The remaining chapters will all be like that, so get used to it. It's not exactly as it was in the thread, because I had to edit some of it for it to make sense, but I do realize that there is not a whole lot of description. I'm working on that. DUN LYNCH ME!

Anyway, I'm still looking for spots where I can add in the X-men, so please be patient. And, as always, I'm looking for a Beta tester. EMAIL ME ALL YOU BEAUTIFUL BETA TESTERS OUT THERE!


	8. The Mishap

Shouting had drifted down the hall to Rinsi's sensitive ears, rousing her from her deep, exhausted slumber. Usually she was a bright and cheery person, but she was too exhausted to be cheerful right now, and being woken up by screaming hadn't helped. Still, she tried to dim down her perturbation.

Throwing the dorm door open, she glared down the hall just in time to see Nakya storm out of the door a way down the hall. It looked like she was upset about something.

_Well_, she figured to herself, _I'll sleep better tonight anyway_.

Rinsi sighed to her self, smacked her cheeks a bit to wake her up, and hoped that the bags under her eyes would go unnoticed as she slapped on a smile and walked down the hall.

"Hey, what's up?" she said as cheerfully as she could.

"Oh, hi Logan!" Rinsi said somewhat cheerfully when she spotted the boy from earlier, who had the lovely singing voice.

Rinsi had seen how Logan seemed to be embracing Nakya, and she knew that not all things were as it seemed. Still, it gave her something to tease Nakya about later. She wouldn't tell Ichio, hoping that seeing her in the dress Rinsi had let her borrow would have brought him closer to telling her weather or not he liked her, and hoping that he did like her as she seemed to like him. Besides, once they heard her voice, Logan seemed to push himself from Nakya.

Looking up at Rinsi from the ground, tears streaming down her face, Nakya asked, "Why do boys have to be so mean? Why do they intentionally hurt you? He said I put Abby in a coma, but I didn't! I would never do that to someone!" Covering her face, she continued to cry on the ground, not caring how pitiful she appeared to the others.

Rinsi smiled sympathetically at her crying friend. As tired as she was, she couldn't be mad at someone who was already upset like that. She knelt down and carefully lifted Nakya to her feet.

"Everyone thinks differently about everything, my friend." she said, trying to be cheerful, "I don't know who this person is that is in a coma or why, and frankly it's not my business. However, in a place like this I suspect it is due to a clash of psychokinetic abilities directly linked to the brain. Are you and this other person telepathic?"

Nodding at Rinsi, Nakya quietly answered.

"Yes, we both are…" Realizing now that it was her fault, she felt so bad, she thought she was going to pass out. Holding onto Rinsi, she remembered Logan. Where was Logan? He had pulled away from her and then where did he go? Still feeling dizzy, she looked at Rinsi, almost in a panic.

"Where's Logan? Where did he go? Did he leave was he mad?"

Her vision started going, and she closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against Rinsi's arm.

"That's what I thought." Rinsi said, growing somewhat serious.

"Uh, Logan," she said, cheerful again as she looked to the young man who had been embracing her and was now standing a few steps back, "would you like to assist Nakya to our room please? I'd do so, but I'm still too weak from last night."

"I'm still here" he replied for himself.

He pushed off the wall he was leaning against and returned to her side. He hadn't gone far; just behind her on the wall. Because it was not his business what she and Rinsi spoke about. He looked over at her, his hands still in his pocket and a small frown on his face.

Hearing Logan's voice Nakya turned around and looked at him. As she was turning she felt nothing but relief. As soon as she saw him frowning, she felt dread.

_'Oh no, he is mad! That or he thinks you're a child, a small, weak, emotional child! Shut up! I'm not! Yes you are, everyone was right about you! You're a freak, an outsider!' _

Letting go of Rinsi with both hands, she covered her ears and closed her eyes, hoping to block out the sounds of her mind arguing with herself. Not caring if he was mad at her, she went to him and wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest, whispering , "Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop.."

Logan was a little surprised. He looked down at her, then quickly at Rinsi. A bit cautiously he wrapped his arms around her in another hug, glancing at Rinsi once more. He didn't know what she wanted him to stop, but if he did he would try. He didn't have much practice on comforting people. He was normally pretty distant from other people.

"Stop what?"

Seeing Logan look at her, she held up her hands in a 'I resign' manner. She was just as confused as he was, and it was clear by the look on her face.

"I think maybe she needs to rest a bit. Would you be so kind as to assist her to our room?" Rinsi said, still trying to be cheerful, "I'm currently unable to do so myself. Besides, I think she wants you to comfort her somehow."

Rinsi thought she had heard a sound for a moment, a sound like footsteps. She turned and saw no one, but she was fairly sure she had heard it. Curious as ever, she walked down the hall and turned the corner, finding Yumi.

"Oh, hello, Yumi!" she said, trying to be cheerful, "Hey, what's up? You look upset."

Looking up to see Rinsi, Yumi gasped lightly, trying to rub away the tears that had begun to roll down her face.

"It's nothing, really." She tried to smile. "Just, don't tell Nakya I'm here, okay? Please." She whispered the last word, standing and fleeing down the stairs.

_I knew there was a reason_. She thought at Ichio, the tears now flowing down her face unchecked. He said nothing back, dumbfounded.

Seeing how sad Yumi looked, Rinsi realized she had seen Nakya in Logans arms. Because of her reaction, she figured that either she or Ichio, or both felt strongly about Nakya. Rinsi sighed to herself and ran after the girl as best as she could, though not really expecting to catch up considering how tired she still was.

_Damn_,she swore to herself, _if this isn't a sign that my spell failed, I don't know what is. Not a single chance for a break around here, is there? Sheesh...Nakya, you'll owe me for this one._

Yumi wasn't paying attention to where she was running, and ran straight into someone, knocking her on her butt. She heard a voice, slightly familiar, and looked up right into Ki'iro's face. Her tears halted, embarrassment stopping them in their tracks.

"I'm so sorry…" the person said quietly, "I'm a little out of it. I'm not having the best day." He said, trying to chuckle softly as he offered a hand to help her up.

"Ki'iro... Sorry, I didn't see you." She stammered, unable to say much more. She didn't take his hand, afraid to touch him. She sat on the floor, staring at him, and a dam of words broke loose without warning.

"I didn't know that you, and Nakya, and she was there, and he was, and I didn't, and Ichio tried to say, but I wouldn't let him, and... and... I don't know!" She all but screamed, not realizing that everything she'd said was nearly gibberish.

She covered her face with her arms, feeling a pulse of energy sink into the floor, as a separate wall of sound swirled around her head momentarily, drowning out the pain that coursed painfully through her head. She felt close to unconsciousness, and backed off of it, a sudden fear taking hold of her and cutting off her power. She held completely still, tears once again falling down her cheeks.

Ki'iro looked down at the girl in shock, he had no idea what was going on. He knelt down and tried to comfort her,.

"Um, I'm sure it'll be alright. Me and Nakya," his voice trailed off and he paused "There's nothing there. We don't have anything between us," Ki'iro managed a small smile. "We just had a little argument, but maybe we can still be friends with each other."

Ki'iro tried to put an arm around her, he didn't recall ever meeting her before. But he knew Ichio. "Are you," he paused, trying to get a good look at her face, "Are you okay?" He was sincerely concerned; he couldn't stand to see somebody like this, although it probably would be better if she didn't know him; if she hated him. It would be better for anybody who came in contact with him. He knew that from Nakya.

Just as Rinsi was going to stop running or else collapse, she found Yumi on the floor next to Ki'iro, crying. They were just up ahead, so she slowed to a jog, and stopped when she reached them, gasping for air. She grabbed the green silk of her pajamas that covered her knees as she tried to catch her breath.

"Yumi...." she said between gasps for air, "let's talk....please....Oh....hi....Ki'iro...."

Yumi looked up at Ki'iro, listening to her joints crack and pop in protest to the intense pressure she'd just subjected them to. She laughed.

"Ki'iro, I haven't been fine since I killed my parents." She didn't know why she said it, it just came out, but she couldn't stop. "I wasn't fine before, and I'm so much less then fine right now. Why are women so complicated? Why is everything so complicated?" Her tears flew down her face. Her thoughts wouldn't organize, so she said things as they came. "You're lying to me, I can feel a tensing of energy when you say that. Nakya is with another guy. Not me. She said, she said that... she liked him, liked Ichio. She never said out loud she liked me, but... That doesn't make it hurt any less when she does it. I don't understand. It isn't happening...It's not..." She trailed off, trying to stem the flow of energy that swirled around her.

"Oh?" Rinsi said, beginning to catch her breath finally, "is THAT what you think you saw?...Heh, no wonder you're upset."

Rinsi sat down next to the crying Yumi, her joints aching badly from the pressure that surrounded her. However, she ignored it, and kept that cheerful smile, hoping it would help cheer her up. She patted the girl on the head for a moment and leaned back so she could catch her breath some more.

"In that case let me explain. Things aren't always as they seem." she said, still breathing heavily, but not really gasping any more, "She ran into Logan on accident. I saw it as I walked into the hall to see what the ruckus was about. Logan was holding her because he was trying to comfort his friend - just like I'm trying to comfort you now."

Ki'iro simply sat down next to her, and looked up at Rinsi.

"Hello Star." He said simply. "I couldn't tell you why women are so complicated. It truly dumbfounds me."

He sighed heavily, completely ignoring the fact that she had said she killed her own parents. Ki'iro simply figured that it could wait for another time, or no time at all.

"Do you need to lay down? I can just carry you, or something," again his voice trailed off. He had no idea what to do for her. "You're right, I am lying. Although there are now no more positive feelings between us, I feel it is better if she stays away from me and hates me. It's probably better if you stay away from me as well. Nakya isn't with vampire boy if that's what you're thinking. She just ran to him when I upset her," he sighed. "I'm sorry I upset her, but it needed to be done."

Yumi listened numbly, realizing they didn't know one crucial detail. Vaulting forward, she gathered energy to her palms, holding them slightly in front of her.

"Then why did she leave? She left me there, outside, and ran to the forest. She said she'd be back. Why did she come here, then? It's not happening."

She laughed, feeling the delicious power in her hands. It was so comforting. She couldn't remember the last time she felt so powerful.

"The best one to answer that is Nakya. You'll have to ask her yourself, unless Ki'iro knows." Rinsi said, still panting for breath a bit. "Have I mentioned you should try out for the track team?"

Rinsi was unaware of what Yumi was up to and stood up. She had heard the girl laughing, but the laugh sounded sarcastic, like she was hurting and putting on a front. Stepping up to Yumi, she wrapped her arm around the girl's shoulders, partly for support, and partly as a half-hug for the girl.

"Like I said, not everything is exactly what it looks like. For all you know, it could be better than what you think it is. You just need to give it a chance to reveal its true nature and find out for your self."

Ki'iro stood up and pointed his hands at the girl. His hands were a dark purple, almost black. Shadows licked up around his arms.

"She left because she needed to talk to me, don't blame her, okay? She didn't mean to hurt you! She doesn't even know if you care about her or not," he sighed heavily, putting his arms down. "She thinks you don't care, she doesn't think anybody cares. She came to talk to me because of how I reacted to her last night."

The dark flames wrapped around his hands didn't lower, they only burned higher. "You need to calm down and talk to Nakya, she didn't mean to hurt you. She didn't mean to hurt you," he repeated.

Yumi was caught slightly off-guard when Rinsi put an arm around her shoulders. She waited through Ki'iro's explanation, her sense of time slowed from pressure. Pausing for a moment, anger swelled in her body, and she struck.

"You will NOT put your hands on ME!" She screamed, slamming an energy-filled palm into the girl's stomach, forcing Yumi back into the wall as Rinsi hit the opposite.

She cracked her head on the hard surface, and saw stars, which were magnified by the heavy blanket of energy that still surrounded her. Falling to the floor, she sat dazed. Nothing made sense to her. "It's not happening..." She whispered, Ki'iro's words finally taking effect.

Ki'iro slowly let the flames on his hands die down, showing her that he meant her no harm.

"She didn't mean to do anything to you, she didn't mean to hurt you. I promise you that." He turned the side of his head, his cheek still slightly pink from Nakya's slap to the face. "You see that? It's because she hates me. And I want it that way. You don't want it that way, I know it. Don't do something you will regret. Calm down, we can go walk, and we can see Nakya soon. There's no need to get so upset. It was all just a misunderstanding." Ki'iro's fingertips began flickering with shadows.

He didn't want to be completely caught off guard if she decided to strike again. He had seen the force she had hit Star with, and didn't exactly want that to happen to him, no matter how strong he may be.

Rinsi hadn't expected Yumi to react so violently to a gesture that was meant to be comforting. Before she knew what was going on, she found her stomach hurting like crazy, like it was on fire, and her back and head hurt just as bad as they impacted the wall. The world was growing dark again, and she refused to let it do so. However, she knew she was in trouble. The intense burning in her stomach told her something had ruptured. She had the strongest urge to cough, and knew it wasn't wise not to, but when she did she found the taste of copper in her mouth, and blood on the hand that covered it.

Her head was spinning, and she knew she was too weak to even heal, but she had to try. Conjuring up as much energy as she could, she placed a faintly glowing hand over her stomach, and was relieved as the burning sensation dimmed, though the coughing didn't.

"Crap..." she said under her breath, "Not only am I spent, but I'm in an energy deficit and can't even heal."

She wiped the bloody hand on her silk pajama pants, knowing she would regret it later, but she didn't want anyone to worry by seeing the blood on her hand.

"Hey, Ki'iro," she said, speaking up just loud enough to be heard, "is Yumi okay?"

Yumi looked up at Ki'iro, taking in everything that he said.

"I can't. I can't control this. I can't stay here. Go, go with Ichio. He'll come with. He'll talk to her. He can do this. I... I can't..." She said, her voice falling to a whisper. "Ichio, please help me."

She closed her eyes, not caring that Ki'iro was watching her change.

_I'm here, Yumi. I'll take care of things_. He cooed back at her.

_Thank you,_ _Ichio... Thank you..._

Bones snapped and popped, skin stretched and power dispersed as Ichio took over. Blinking away tears, Ichio looked back up at Ki'iro, a weak smile on his face.

"She didn't mean to do that to Rinsi. She really didn't." Looking over at Rinsi, his smile faded. "Rinsi, don't move. Yumi did major damage to your organs. We need to get you healed, and fast." He stood up quickly, making his head spin, and sat back down.

"Ki'iro, don't let her move yet." He said, trying to quiet his head.

Ki'iro was taken aback by this girl changing into Ichio. Shaking his head, he moved briskly over to Rinsi who was laying against the wall.

"Don't move Star, Ichio will get help, she didn't mean to..." He held Star's shoulders, trying to comfort her. "Don't think about the pain, watch..." he said as shadows danced on the palm of his hand. His shadows had always had the power to distract one from their pain.

"Yeah, I kind of figured she did." Rinsi said weakly. "Heh, go figure...I'm a healer, but I can't heal myself....Stupid energy deficit..."

Rinsi's knees buckled beneath her. She couldn't hold herself up any more. In fact, she was surprised she made it this far without passing out. As she landed on her knees, a new pain arising from them, she managed to catch herself enough to keep herself from kissing the floor.

"Heh, no worries here...I can't move...My body won't let me. Ki'iro, I'll be fine. Mooney ran when Yumi hurt me, so I assume that means he's getting help. Just get Ichio to Nakya, and this time be nice to her."

"I'm sorry you got involved, Star," he whispered softly into her ear. His hands had began trembling, he had caused all of this damage to everybody. He figured he should just leave everybody.

Ichio rose to one knee, begging Yumi to come back for a moment, if only to fix what she had broken.

"An energy deficit? Yumi, she can help. I'm trying to get her to come back. Hang on Rinsi. She'll come. I promise." Ichio assured her, wondering if he was lying. Yumi didn't seem to be able to answer him, even, let alone come back. He waited, trying to reassure her while at the same time putting urgency into his voice.

"It's ok, Ki'iro," Rinsi said weakly, still sounding cheerful, "I don't blame you, and for some reason I don't think Yumi and Nakya do either, so cheer up. It's ok Ichio, she doesn't have to come. I wouldn't blame her if she didn't. She's really upset."

Rinsi hated worrying everyone, but she had used so much energy the day before that she shouldn't have even been awake yet, let alone practicing her martial arts or jogging. It was no wonder she had no energy left to heal or even to move. That really was not wise on her part, nor was it wise to suddenly hug Yumi like that, even if it was meant to help her cheer up.

"Hey, tell Yumi I said I'm sorry for grabbing her like that. I'll warn her next time."

Ki'iro was about to open his mouth to say something, but shut his mouth. He pushed the hair out of his face and looked down at the ground.

"I hope they don't blame me," he whispered softly.

"I don't think they do. They don't strike me as that type of person." Rinsi said, trying to ease Ki'iros fears.

Rinsi was fighting for consciousness now. Though most of the damage to her organs had been healed enough to keep her from getting too serious, some of it was still unhealed, and that strike to her head when she hit the wall wasn't helping either. She felt dizzy and tired, more tired than she had been all day. She knew she was in bad shape, but she refused to show it. She hated having people fuss over her, and she wanted to show them she was ok so they wouldn't worry.

"It's no use. Yumi could fix you in a jiffy, but she's too afraid. I haven't seen her this bad in a while. We have to get you in bed, at least, Rinsi." Ichio sighed.

He stood, lightly picking her up. Looking Ki'iro in the eye, he spoke.

"Yumi doesn't blame you. She never blames anyone but herself, and I seriously doubt Nakya blames you either." He started walking towards Rinsi's dorm, being careful not to jostle her.

Ki'iro silently followed Ichio towards Star's dorm room.

"Thank you, Ichio." Rinsi said as he lifted her up.

She didn't like being so weak, but there was nothing she could do. Not physically anyway. However, she could still try to help Ki'iro and Nakya if at all possible. For some reason he seemed to be rather worried about her. She smiled at him, trying to let him know she was okay in spite of the unconsciousness that threatened her.

"I can stay here with her, if you'd like-" his voice cut off, remembering that she and Nakya were room mates. "Maybe I shouldn't..."

"Go right on in, both of you. It's an invitation from me, the other resident of the room. Ki'iro, please be nice to Nakya."

"I'm not sure either of us would be safe there, but we need to get her to bed. Otherwise, she'll be in even more trouble." Ichio walked up to the door, noticing it standing open. Nervously, he called out quietly.

"Nakya? It's me, Ichio. Rinsi's hurt, and she needs rest. Can I come in?" He fidgeted and shuffled from one foot to another, uncomfortable being around Nakya right now.

Hearing Ichio call out and say that Rinsi was hurt, Nakya's eyes flew open and she jumped out of bed. She ran to the door, wondering just what was going on.

"What do you mean she's hurt?"

Looking out the door, first she saw Rinsi, barely conscious in Ichio's arms, and then she saw Ki'iro. Pain flashed through her eyes when she saw him, but it was quickly replaced with concern.

"Ichio, put her on her bed and stay with her. Ki'iro, grab the cup off the dresser. Fill it with water."

Waiting for everyone to go in, Nakya pulled Logan in and sat him down in a chair. Running over to her dresser she pulled out a piece of fabric and slammed the drawer shut.

"Where's Mooney? Did he go get the nurse?"

Ki'iro walked into the room silently. He felt extremely uncomfortable and grabbed the glass off of the dresser as instructed. He went into the bathroom and filled it with water, then brought it back out into the room. He refused to look at Nakya, and he continually stared down at the floor. Ki'iro had no idea what to say. He just stood there motionless, holding the cup of water out.

Ichio followed instructions, placing Rinsi on the bed and kneeled next to her.

"I think so." was all he said. He felt out of place here. Sneaking a glance at Ki'iro, he noticed he wasn't the only one. He waited for further instructions, unsure of what to do.

"One thing I wonder..." Rinsi said as she felt the familiar warmth and comfort of her bed beneath her, unconsciousness threatening to take over before she could finish, "Why does Ki'iro think Nakya and Yumi should hate him? Why does....Yumi...blame hersel..."

At that last bit, though, the darkness enveloped her, beckoning her into a deep and dreamless sleep once more.

As she ran around the room gathering things, Nakya focused on the water. About half of the water came spiraling out of the cup and landed neatly (as neat as water can) on the fabric. It soaked up quickly. Walking over to Ichio, she handed him the fabric and said

"Keep that on her forehead. If she's feverish it will cool her down, and the coldness will keep her awake." Walking over beside Rinsi, she crouched down and whispered in her ear "I'm sorry this happened to you Rinsi. It's all my fault. I promise I'll make it up to you."

Walking away from the bed, she heard a noise at the door and looked up. Breathing a sigh of relief, she saw a couple of nurses, followed by Ms. Grey. They rushed over to Rinsi's bedside and began taking care of her, each one fussing about the mess and wondering what had happened to her. Walking past Ki'iro, she took the cup of water out of his hand and quietly murmured.

"We should wait outside, boys." With that, she ducked out the door, and stood in front of a window, quietly sipping the water.

"Please do." said as she aided the nurses in checking on Rinsi's injuries. "This is going to take a while. I want you all to meet me in my office later so I can find out what happened here."

"Yes, ma'am!" they chorused as they left the room.

Just then, a little black cat walked out of the room and sat in front of Ichio. It held in it's mouth a packed roll of gauze bandages, which it set on the floor in front of him. The cat looked up at Ichio, almost as if to smile and say, "Did I do good?"

* * *

**Author's Note:** Another long chapter! But at least this time it was somewhat exciting. I know, I know. Drama galore. That's what happened in the thread. Also, CUTE KITTY ANTICS FTW!

FYI: Yumi and Ichio are the same person. They are a 'third gender', meaning it is one body, but that body switches between male and female depending on the consciousness that controls the body. Yumi controls all forms of energy, while Ichio is super strong. It's kind of like MPD, except that each 'personality' is a separate being sharing the same body. They also both love Nakya. Go figure.

Sorry, all you Logan fans! He doesn't show up much in this story. Just a little here and there. No, not Logan as in Wolverine. Different Logan, who, if you don't know, is a vampire. Only he practically starves himself because he doesn't like feeding on people. ;O Sound familiar?

Logan: What's that supposed to mean?

Me: You know what it means...Effin' fairy...

Logan: -_- I don't sparkle and I like women.

Me: ._. Good point. Sorry!

Right...this is turning out to be a long comment. Well, if I come up with more to add later that I think you need to know, I'll post it.

As always, I need a Beta tester. EMAIL ME ALL YOU BEAUTIFUL BETAS OUT THERE!!!


	9. The Next Day

The night slowly passed into day, and once again green eyes peered open and looked around. She couldn't remember where she was for a moment. After some time thinking, she remembered that she was in her dorm room, though the details as to how and why and why she felt like she had just been hit by a train were still fuzzy. Her whole body seemed to be in pain, but mostly her head. She felt exhausted even though she had just woken up, and she wasn't sure why.

A few moments later she remembered the energy deficit. She had cast a huge spell, then went jogging and practiced her martial arts in spite of exhaustion. That alone had put her in a bit of an energy deficit. But why was her body so sore? Her head throbbed in pain, and what little light was in the room was blinding. Her stomach felt like it was nearly on fire, and her lungs felt like lead. She coughed a few times, causing the pain to multiply ten fold, and once again tasted copper in her mouth, but this time it was mingled with phlegm.

_Holy crap_, she thought to herself, _what the hell happened?_

Turning to Rinsi at the sound of her coughing, Nakya went rushing to her side.

"Rinsi! Are you okay? How do you feel?" Helping her sit up, she propped a pillow behind her. "Don't strain yourself. Do you remember what happened?"

Rinsi winced in pain as her elevation changed, but she still smiled, trying to ease her room mate's fears.

"Damn, that must've been some party, huh? I feel like a train wreck and I don't remember a thing. Remind me never to get drunk again." she said jokingly through gritted teeth.

"So you don't remember what happened then?" she asked, looking at Rinsi, her eyes full of concern. Thinking, she suddenly said "Rinsi, if you don't mind, I can access your memories and I can find out what happened."

Not waiting for her response, she figured Rinsi wouldn't mind, she connected her mind to Rin's. Ki'iro storming off. Nakya crying, running into Logan. Logan holding her. Yumi seeing Logan's arms around her. Yumi running. Ki'iro speaking to Yumi, Yumi crying. Rinsi hugging her. And... Yumi attacking Rinsi because of...... Nakya. Pain, horrible, searing pain.. Breaking her thoughts of from Rinsi's, Nakya doubled over in pain. Breathing sharply, she waited until the pain passed. Looking at Ichio, she began to tremble.

"It's all my fault.. everything that happened is because of me.." she whispered, looking back at Rinsi.

Stumbling backwards, she turned around and ran. She started running down the hall, sobbing. She hoped no one would see her, she didn't want to hurt anyone else.

"That girl is too impatient." Came a voice nearby.

Rinsi turned her head and instantly the world spun. She blinked her eyes a few times and waited for the spinning to stop before she realized the voice belonged to .

"Reading someone's mind like that so soon after such serious injuries isn't safe. So, do you want to tell me your side of it and why you weren't resting like I told you to?"

Rinsi instantly felt like the proverbial dog in the dog house. She had tried to rest, or at least she thought she had, but noise kept her up.

"Well, I tried to..." she explained.

A young vampire was walking at an easy pace. His hands were in his pockets and his head in the clouds. He heard foot steps running up behind him. He turned and moved closer to the wall. After running into Nakya twice he figured it was best to avoid runners. He pushed his hair from his face. Confusion crossed it as he spotted Nakya, crying once more. He tilted his head slightly to the side his hair falling in front of his eyes once more.

Seeing Logan, Nakya groaned loudly through her tears. She could see he was confused again. _Just what I'm good at…_ she thought to herself. She ran around the corner, only to find it was a dead end. Anger overcoming her sadness, she began growling, a deep low sound.

"Why did I do this?" she asked out loud. "When did I do all of this? I don't remember any of what other people have seen!" Her anger and sadness boiling over, she began punching and kicking the wall while yelling loudly.

Logan had decided to leave her to cry, or calm down on her own. Until, that is, he heard her yelling. The confusion on his face was replaced with concern. He turned the corner where she had gone. He pushed his hair from his face.

"Nakya...?" his words were crossed between a question and a statement. He didn't want to see her so upset. She was his friend, and he hated to see her like this.

She continued kicking the wall until she heard a familiar voice breakthrough her anger. Turning her head, Nakya's face went bright red, highlighting the streak marks from her tears.

"Logan?" Scratching her neck, she said "I'm sorry. The last few times we've met up, I've just been...heh..crazy."

Standing with her back to the wall, she let herself slide down until she was sitting on the floor, not paying any mind to the damage she had done to the wall. In nothing more than a barely there whisper, she said "I've hurt everyone.."

"It's fine. You've had a few rough days." he said, looking at the wall for a moment then back at her and pushing his hair from his face. "You haven't hurt everyone Nakya. It isn't all your fault." he crouched down so he was sitting in front of her, concern in his eyes. He really didn't like to see her so upset.

Sighing softly when Logan said she hadn't hurt everyone, she replied "I've hurt Abby and Ki'iro. Ichio and Yumi, myself and Rinsi. The only person left to hurt is you."

As she spoke the last words, a pained expression crossed her face.

"And it is all my fault Logan. All because I liked someone." Looking down, not being able to look him in the eye, she thought, _You're so stupid, Nakya.._ Her hair fell forward, partially covering her face. A few strands stuck to a damp spot on her cheek, and she brushed them away.

"I just don't know what to do to fix it. I think I should just leave.."

Logan sighed. Scooting over to sit next to her, he looked over at her again.

"You didn't do any of that on purpose." he said, looking away for a moment. "You're not a bad person for liking someone either, and I don't think you should leave." he looked back at her, concern still on his face.

"Everything would get fixed if I left, then people wouldn't have to worry." she said, laughing softly, She gave a small shrug. "Why don't you think I should leave? I have feelings for Ichio and someone else. I've completely upset Ki'iro and my room mate was almost killed because of me, and that was just in one day!" she said, a look of complete confusion on her face. She leaned against Logan. "Yumi became upset because she saw you holding me up.." Shaking her head, she continued "If I stay, I'll just keep to myself. That way I won't have to annoy you with my silly little problems and quirks anymore."

"You can't blame yourself for what happened. That was a misunderstanding and an over reaction." he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "I'm sure Ichio will understand, and if he doesn't, he isn't worth it. Then you could always give this other person a try."

He had no idea who the other person was, but that wasn't his business. He pushed his hair from his face again.

"You and Ki'iro probably just have to talk. As far as I can tell neither of you hate each other." he looked over at her again. "And I would miss you if you left."

Nodding slowly at what Logan said, she began to smile a little. When he mentioned going for the other person if Ichio didn't understand, she managed a soft laugh.

"The other one, he… he likes to be by himself and wouldn't want me hanging around all the time." _Not to mention he's you.._.she added in her head.

When he said Nakya and Ki'iro just need to talk, she quickly shook her head.

"I can't talk to him. I cry every time I do, and he gets mean. Really mean, when he sees me." When Logan mentioned he would miss her, she tilted her head to the side. You'd miss me? How come?"

The vampire smiled ever so lightly, looking at her again.

"You never now, sometimes people change once you get to know them better." He pushed his hair off his face once more. "Just give Ki'iro a little time. I'm sure he still wants to be your friend."

He was going to add that he felt, by the way Ki'iro sometimes looked and acted around her, that he had a crush on her. He smiled again

"I'm not that bad, sure sometimes it doesn't show but I have feelings. Of course I would miss you. You're my friend. I would miss you and I wouldn't even need a reason."

"He doesn't want to be my friend, he hates me.." she said softly, frowning.

When he said he was her friend, she smiled again.

"I'm glad to hear at least one person still wants to be my friend…" Turning her thoughts back to Ki'iro, she asked "Can you go see if he's okay for me. I think I really hurt him last night...I didn't mean to..." Sighing softly, she closed her eyes and a silent tear rolled down her cheek.

"Just give it time Nakya. He doesn't hate you. I can tell." He looked over at her again, sighing softly. He gently wiped the tear off her cheek with his thumb. "I'll go see him later, promise."

Of course he would wait for her to feel better.

"How can you tell he doesn't hate me?" she asked Logan.

When he reached up and brushed a tear off her face, she gasped at how cold his hand was.

"Your hands are freezing! Here let me help."

She reached over and took his hands in hers. Gently, she began blowing warm air over them, trying to warm them up. While blowing on his hands, she looked up at his face, waiting for his answer.

He smiled lightly, watching her for a moment as she tried to warm his hands.

"If he hated you, he would act much differently. Trust me."

He had been hated many times before. He knew how people acted. Sure everyone was different but the basic lines were the same. Ki'iro would probably just avoid her if he hated her. But he didn't know why he would. What happened to Abby had been an accident. He couldn't just blame Nakya. He looked at his hands.

"You know they aren't that cold." he slipped his hands out of her grasp.

"I guess you're right." she said, nodding at what Logan was saying about Ki'iro.

Continuing to warm up his hands, she smiled up at him. When he pulled his hands away, she blushed heavily.

"Sorry, I was just trying to help. I should have asked first." she murmured.

"Don't worry." he said looking at her again and pushing his hair from his face.

The brunette smiled lightly again. Slowly he stood, once more pushing his hair out of his eyes. He looked over at Nakya again, offering his hand to help her up.

Nakya watched as Logan stood. When he offered her, his hand, she took it and pulled herself up. Looking at him, she bit her lower lip.

"Why is it your skin is much cooler than mine?" She smiled up at him.

She hoped he'd realize she wasn't trying to be rude. She was just curious as to why his hands were so cold. Quickly, she brushed off her dress and peeked down the hall.

"I have to go talk to Ichio now don't I?" she said, groaning slightly.

Sighing softly, she knew she was going to get upset again.

The vampire shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm not sure." was his reply.

He did know. He was undead. The undead were never that warm. He nodded slowly.

"You probably should. I'll go see Ki'iro for you while you are if you want." he said looking over at her and pushing his hair from his face.

Standing on her tip toes, Nakya kissed Logan on the cheek, which was also surprisingly cool. She nodded at him, when he mentioned Ki'iro.

"Thanks Logan." she said quietly. "I need to find Ichio."

With a small wave, Nakya began walking back to her dorm room. The walk there seemed longer than usual, but that was because she was dreading what she had to do. Peeking in, she couldn't see Ichio anywhere. This, at least, was comforting. She didn't want to have her discussion with him in front of Rinsi, who was trying to rest. As she began to wander towards the front doors, she searched for Ichio's thoughts.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Yes, I know. Rinsi was hardly in this one. It was more based on Nakya and Logan and their relationship with each other that neither can seem to express well enough. To all you Logan fans out there, you're welcome. For all you Rinsi fans, don't worry, she'll come back soon enough. To all of you looking for the X-men, I couldn't find a place to put them in this chapter, and that's fine because this was just based around Nakya and Logan. They'll show up again soon so be patient.

As always I'm looking for a lovely beta tester, so if you are interested, let me know.


	10. Ichio!

Ichio couldn't say anything to Nakya. He couldn't find his voice. When she read Rinsi's mind, he knew the exact moment when she found out about Yumi's attack. He cringed, anticipating yelling and screaming. Instead, he heard footsteps and crying as Nakya fled. Looking up, she was gone. Yumi had done irreparable damage once more, and it was his job to fix everything. He was so sick of it. _Not this time, Yumi. You did it, you fix it, or I'm going back and never coming out again. You have four hours to decide._ He threatened Yumi, feeling his blood boil.

"Rinsi, you need rest. I'll go, and try to find Nakya." he covered.

He stood and walked out of the room without a second glance. His face was blank, betraying no emotion. Striding down the hall to the cafeteria, he noticed he wasn't alone. His plans changed quickly, and he grabbed an apple instead, and walking up to the girl. "Hey. What's up?" he asked coolly.

He was, of course, talking to a girl who was nearby. She didn't look much older than thirteen, and still had a lolicon look to her that made her look cute, in that 'little sister' sense. She was not far away, munching on a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich and watching him intently. He'd never seen her before, and figured she was a new student.

"Hi, I'm Sarah!" the girl said.

"Nice to meet you, Sarah, I'm Ichio." Ichio smiled.

His emotions felt separate from his actions. He took a seat next to her, ignoring Yumi's pleas against it. She didn't matter to him at the moment. He didn't notice Nakya come into the room. He wasn't paying much attention to anything, really. Everything seemed to be clockwork. He wasn't controlling anything.

"So, are you new here?" He asked, smirking lightly.

"Hi, I'm Nakya!" came a familiar voice next to him.

Ichio turned slowly as Nakya sat down next to him. His face was still mostly emotionless as he listened to Yumi screech and rant at him. Ichio turned to see Nakya sitting next to him, looking as pretty as ever, though he could see in her eyes that she was concerned about something.

"Nice to meet you! I am new here and I suspect that you aren't? Right?" Sarah asked.

Sarah then stood and took her tray to the kitchen, before returning to sit back down next to Ichio. Her eyes wandered in his eyes and she saw her father's eyes. Tears came in her eyes and wiped them away as she shook the other girl's hand

"Nice to meet you" Sarah said.

"Hey, babe. I was wondering where you ran off to." He leaned over and kissed Nakya on the cheek. "I just met Sarah, too." He smiled, without it reaching his eyes. Yumi wouldn't stop yelling. He had a hard time focusing.

"Ah..so you guys are dating! Very interesting…" Sarah said while giving a strange look.

Sarah was kind of confused but checked her cell for messages from her brother anyway. She found there was a message from him indeed, and after her quick reply, she turned back to the two in front of her.

Leaning over Nakya kissed Ichio on the cheek.

"Is something wrong?" she asked when she noticed his smile didn't reach his eyes. Glancing at the clock on the wall, she continued "I need to speak with you. Meet me in a little bit in the gym?"

Standing, she kissed Ichio's cheek again and looked at the girl.

"It was nice to meet you."

Walking away from the table, she made her way into the auditorium and sat down to wait.

"I'm fine, babe." the fake smile reappeared. "Sure, I'll meet you there." Turning back to Sarah, he said, "Yeah, we're together. There have been a few bumps, but we're fine overall." He ignored Yumi's sobbing, as well as her annoying pleading. "Are you expecting a call?" He asked as she checked her phone.

Sarah felt like she never felt before, like she actually liked a boy who was taken.

"Well, no, not really. It was just a message, and I shouldn't be holding you up because I am pretty sure your girlfriend is waiting for you" Sarah said hoping that she didn't sound so jealous.

"You're fine." He smiled, "I'll know when she's ready for me to meet her."

He figured he might have enough time, if the girl left soon. If not, he'd do it after his talk. Four hours was a long time away still.

"Besides, she probably wants to talk about Yumi, and I don't really fancy going to do that quite yet." he smirked, listening to Yumi threaten him with a beating she could never deliver.

"Well, ok. I won't have to go back to my dorm because I was planning to go to the beach after anyways, so I have my bikini on. You go ahead and handle whatever it is you have to, and I will be waiting on the steps." Sarah said with a smile and making her way to the front doors of the school.

"Thanks." Ichio smiled at Sarah.

After she had left the cafeteria, he turned and walked into the deserted kitchen area. It was far from any meal times, and the staff didn't bother much, since most students rarely ate so the kitchen was empty. All that kept him company were cooking utensils, counter tops, sinks, and walk-in refrigerators that kept the food cold until it was ready to be prepared. He searched quickly. Finding what he needed, he wrapped it tightly and stuck it in an interior pocket. His clothing was baggy, so it didn't show that he had anything in his pocket. He walked out of the cafeteria, whistling quietly to drown out Yumi.

"I'm ready now." he said, smiling at Sarah as he came down the steps.

"Ok, that was quick business to handle. It was so quick that I would think that you would have had to use the bathroom." Sarah said giggling and walking to the beach and putting her cell phone and I-Pod in her pants pocket.

Ichio spent his time with Sarah listening mostly, trying to force Yumi to shut up. She was too afraid to actually change, so she instead contented herself with yelling and screaming. How annoying. Finally tiring of the charade, Ichio stood.

"I suppose I should go now, Nakya's probably waiting for me. It was nice to meet you, and I hope to see you again soon." he smiled, walking back up to the school and into the auditorium. Nakya wasn't there yet, so he started wandering the halls, not wanting to stay in one place for too long.

Ichio continued wandering the halls, the three remaining hours feeling forever away. He really wished he'd picked a shorter time span. Yumi was annoying the snot out of him. Deciding the apple he'd eaten wasn't enough for him, he roamed back to the cafeteria, contemplating a sandwich. He heard a voice as he came close to the cafeteria, and backed up the way he came, not especially wanting to talk to people.

Ichio wandered some more, wishing Nakya would hurry up. He felt so impatient. He wanted to talk to her before he went through with his plan, but didn't want to give Yumi any extra time to plan anything. Four hours was already too long. He paced back and forth, finally deciding to go outside for some fresh air.

"Hurry up, Nakya..." he whispered to himself as he passed the auditorium. He walked out into the open field, and sat down in the middle, facing the forest. There was a light breeze, and it felt good on his skin.

Ichio grew tired of sitting. He wanted to move. He wanted to talk to Nakya. But it had been hardly a minute since he sat down. She wouldn't be there yet. Groaning as he stood, Ichio walked forward, towards the forest. _I'm telling you, don't go in there! _Yumi screamed at him. _Remember what happened last time!_ Her voice echoed in his mind. _I don't care. That was you, this is me. I won't screw up like you always do._

Ichio walked, without having a set direction or destination. His feet simply took him where they willed. As he wandered, he heard voices. One sounded like Ki'iro. He crept closer, trying not to be seen. Ki'iro was standing with a girl, someone he didn't recognize, and he seemed less upset than he should have been. When he left, he looked like he was ready to cut somebody or something. He inched closer, not noticing the slender branch in his path. It snapped loudly, giving away his position. Instead of taking off, Ichio came out from behind the tree. "Hey, Ki'iro." he simply said.

"Ki'iro?" The girl who was with him asked slowly, "or Kai?"

"Umm... Who is Kai?" Ichio asked, suddenly confused.

This was not the reception he'd expected. Not even close.

"Are... you having an identity crisis or something, Ki'iro?" he looked back and forth from Ki'iro, or Kai? and the girl. "Well... I won't get in the middle of this... I've got far too much in my hands taking care of Yumi and Nakya - which you should be doing, by the way, since you made her cry too - and I have to go meet her. You get things figured out, Okay?" He all but demanded, and backed away slowly, then turning to stride quickly back to the school.

There were less than two hours left now, he figured._ Just enough time to talk to Nakya about this._ He picked up the pace, jogging to the auditorium. He paused at the doorway, catching his breath.

"Sorry I'm late, I went for a short walk." he apologized, walking up to Nakya.

"It's fine. I took longer than I expected." she said, smiling up at Ichio.

Moving over so he could sit beside her, she patted the ground.

"Come sit." Waiting until he sat, she finally said, "So, tell me what happened, please?" She looked at him, a mixture of pain and sadness dancing in her eyes. "I want to know everything, whether it will upset me or not."

Ichio heaved a great sigh, organizing his thoughts over Yumi's yelling.

"Well, I'll try, but it might take a while, since Yumi won't stop yelling at me." He sighed again, quieter. Leaning back to lay on the floor, he began. "Well, Yumi got suspicious when you ran off into the forest, and forced herself out to go looking for you. She couldn't find any trace of you in the woods, so she decided to check the school. She saw you there, in that guy, Logan's, arms." He paused, letting her absorb, and taking a breath so he wouldn't start crying. He hated being so sensitive.

Nodding silently, she looked down at the ground. She listened to what Ichio was saying and waited for him to continue. Reaching up, she smoothed her bangs.

"Needless to say, she ran. Right into Ki'iro. She was overwhelmed. I've never seen her have mood swings like this since her last crush, and she was never bad enough to harm someone. She really cared about you... She probably still would, if she wasn't going psycho right now. She does that when she harms someone. Anyway, she tried to escape from the pain she was feeling, trying to escape her feelings for you." Ichio kept going, staring into the ceiling, recalling everything. "Rinsi chased after her. Yumi wouldn't listen to either of them. She kept saying it wasn't happening. At that point, to her, nothing was real. Her powers can brainwash her, so she only feels the thrill of power. That's what had happened when Rinsi tried to comfort her. She struck out, because she felt nothing but power. It wasn't because of you, Nakya. It wasn't. I just couldn't stop her."

Ichio sat up, looking at Nakya to assure her it wasn't her fault. Yumi wouldn't stop yelling. She was crying now, and Ichio had a hard time keeping the tears inside.

Closing her eyes, a silent tear rolled down her cheek as she listened to Ichio.

"So she doesn't trust me... You don't trust me..." she said hen he was finished. Turning her head away from Ichio, she continued, "And it is my fault. I upset her, by turning to a friend when I was upset. And then she hurt another friend of mine, because of it." Taking a slow, deep breath in, she said "I don't know if I can be with someone who doesn't trust me Ichio..." Standing up, she walked over to a window and looked outside, silent tears streaming down her cheeks.

Ichio's mouth dropped when he heard Nakya's words.

"Don't... trust you?" He staggered to his feet. "Why wouldn't I trust you, Nakya? Why do you think that?" He wasn't comprehending. His plan felt closer than ever.

"Because you and Yumi are the same person. What she feels, you feel, and vice versa..." she replied, biting her lip, trying to keep her voice from cracking. Tears began pouring out of her eyes now.

"If she didn't trust me, and jumped to conclusions, then somewhere, deep down, you didn't trust me either." Nakya turned to face Ichio, her pain and sadness evident on her face. "Right?"

As she had been talking, her hands had been forming into tight fists. She knew she had hurt them both, but never did she think they would have thought something like this.

Ichio swallowed the reply he had prepared when Nakya said they were the same person. A sad smile spread on his face.

"Wrong. The same person? Maybe in the beginning. We're... Like twins. We've grown up with the same experiences, almost everything being the same, but we're two different people. We have different feelings, different reactions, different abilities. We're not the same. We may have some things in common sometimes, but I never doubted you would come back. I wanted to wait. Yumi's power has clouded her mind. She's so used to doing things then leaving me to clean it up, that she's lost touch with reality. She doesn't think things through."

Ichio wanted to step forward and take her in his arms, but he couldn't. He didn't want to hurt her any more than he already had, any more than he was going to.

"Nakya, I...." He couldn't finish, instead turning away, trying to keep his head still, trying to drown out Yumi.

, "I'm sorry then Ichio." she said, frowning slightly when she heard Ichio explain about him and Yumi. Wondering why he didn't finish his sentance, she pressed him for an answer.

"You what, Ichio?" Seeing him turn away from her, she began to tremble. Closing her eyes, she let her tears continue to fall.

Ichio could summon no more than a whisper. His time was almost up. Perhaps five minutes remained.

"Nakya, I can't stay here. I can't be here with you. I can't be anywhere." He turned back. "I have to go, and I won't see you again for a very long time. I can't give you an explanation right now, but you're smart. You'll understand. I just... I wish I had more time here." He took one last step forward, wrapping his arms around Nakya as his tears fell down his face.

Blinking in surprise at Ichio, Nakya began to panic.

"What do you mean you can't be here? Can't be here with me? Where are you going? You don't have to leave! I'm sorry! Please don't go, I didn't mean to upset you!"

As Ichio's arms wrapped around her, and she felt his tears, she began almost gasping for air.

"Please Ichio, please, don't go. Don't leave me, please... I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry..."

Nakya was begging him to stay, she hated begging people to do anything.

"It's not in my hands anymore. It's time for me to go. I only have a couple minutes left. I'm sorry, Nakya." Ichio stepped away, not caring that his tears fell. "It's time for Yumi to grow up, to learn how to fend for herself and not rely on me." He backed up, listening to Yumi sob. "I'll come back. I promise."

He turned, and ran. He ran harder than he'd ever run before, out of the school and into the forest at full speed. He ran until he was far enough that he didn't think Nakya would find him. Pulling out the wrapped object in his pocket, he took off the cloth, letting it fall to the ground. He held it to his heart, listening to it beat faster and faster. His heart, not Yumi's. He pushed it hard, piercing through his clothes and deep into bone and muscle. A spasm of pain shook his body. The knife fell to the ground as he wrenched it out, and fell to the ground after it, as Yumi took over.

_I'll come back_, He kept repeating in his mind.

_YOU IDIOT!!! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? I CAN'T HANDLE THIS WITHOUT YOU!_ Yumi screamed in his mind.

_That's why I brought us here in the first place..._ Ichio whispered as the blackness took over. Yumi laid on the ground, her tears and Ichio's falling as she passed out, to wait for the next morning. Ichio was close to death, but not quite. Yumi was alone now, for days, maybe even months.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Be honest. How many of you, not including the people involved with this thread, knew that was going to happen? You can tell me. Dun kill meh! That's really what happened in the thread. Drama galore, eh? Don't worry, he'll be back....eventually. :D

WHAT'S THIS?! TWO CHAPTERS TODAY?! That's right. I feel badly for making you all wait last week. I was so busy that I spaced the update until MONDAY! So, as penance, you get two chapters today. Just hope and pray I get more chapters done this week, though, or next week I might have to skip. Things have been so busy I've had no time for writing. T_T Sad, isn't it?

Anyway, need beta testers, blah blah blah, message me blah blah blah, you get it by now.


	11. What happens next?

Yumi finished her shower, feeling much better. All the fear and sadness she had felt when Ichio…did what he did had mostly melted away, flowing down the shower drain along with the mud and blood that had been caked on her. Stepping out into the steamy room, she clothed herself, tying her hair back and primping. She'd shut out the events of the day, and decided to see if Rinsi was in, so she could apologize and perhaps heal her. She didn't know why, but the fear of her powers had seemed to evaporate. It confused her, but she paid it little attention. Walking down the stairs to Rinsi's room, she was surprised to see the boy standing in the hall with Nakya passed out in his arms.

"What happened?" She asked, jogging down the hall to stand next to him.

"I'm not sure. I found her like this in the forest."

Yumi no longer smelt of blood, but Nakya did. She smelt like Ichio. The brunette looked back at the door. If Rinsi was in he couldn't tell. He couldn't hear any movement inside. He looked back at Yumi then again and Nakya.

Yumi looked at Nakya. She must have found the spot where Ichio stabbed himself. She was covered in blood.

"Is the door locked?" she asked, looking at the door and reaching out to take the handle.

Jiggling the doorknob, she used her power sneakily to push the lock back. Opening the door, she saw no one inside.

"Put her on the bed. I'll get some water." She walked towards the bathroom, and saw Rinsi on the floor, unconscious. It looked like she had tried to use the bathroom on her own, but for some reason – be it her injuries or lack of energy – she had passed out on the way out and was lying on the floor unconscious.

"OH, for crying out loud." She mumbled, bending down to check her vitals. "This is ridiculous."

Logan nodded lightly, watching, with a little suspicion, as she opened the door. He carried Nakya in, placing her on her own bed and looking back at Yumi and Rinsi. He mumbled a few incoherent words and ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. She was right, this was ridiculous.

"Not to mention, it's entirely my fault." Yumi added under her breath as she carefully moved Rinsi to the empty bed. "I'll heal her so she doesn't keep doing this."

Yumi stretched out her hands over Rinsi's abdomen, summoning energy from the air. She felt her breathing quicken as the air thinned and cooled. A light glow emanated from Rinsi's stomach as Yumi sped up the healing process. When she was done, she sat back on her heels, catching her breath.

"I didn't think I'd done this much damage..." She thought out loud.

Logan watched as Yumi healed Rinsi. A small frown formed on his lips as he looked back over at Nakya. He sighed, wondering what had she done to pass out. The brunette looked back at Yumi for a moment then let his eyes drift to the door. He decided to not ask what had happened and would change the subject.

"Is there any thing I can do to help?" he asked, his voice still holding the vampire charm, although it was a little horse.

Rinsi had been in a deep sleep, but could faintly feel something warm and comforting on her body. More specifically, her abdomen. It was this warm, comforting feeling that soothed her aching body, and that woke her up. Once again green eyes opened and glanced around. She remembered coughing up blood in the bathroom until the washrag was soaked, and faintly remembered passing out. However, she was in her bed now, and seeing Yumi next to her, she guessed why.

"Oh, hello, Yumi. Hello, Logan." Rinsi said cheerfully, and this time it was the truth.

Rinsi's whole body felt better than it had since the dance, and she felt a bit more energized. Quite possibly enough to do what she came to this school to do - practice and learn to control her abilities.

Rinsi sat up and stretched a bit, welcoming the slight tug at her muscles.

"Before you say anything, Yumi," Rinsi said, still smiling, but sounding serious, almost motherly, "I don't blame you, so don't blame yourself. And thank you for healing me. I feel much better now!"

Yumi looked up at Logan, answering his question.

"I think things are under control here, but thanks for your help." She smiled, a bit tired. Her gaze returned to Rinsi when she woke. "I don't care who you blame, Rinsi. It was still my fault. I need to control myself." Groaning as she stood, she added, "You need to take things easy, you've healed, but your body still thinks you're wounded."

"Pfft, are you kidding?" Rinsi said cheerfully. "I'm a healer. Sure, the first time I healed myself was annoying, but after that my body got used to being healed prematurely."

Rinsi was about to say more, but her stomach protested loudly. She finally remembered that, since the party, she had only had a couple mouthfuls of food, and her body was really yelling at her for it. As if in sync with her stomach, Mooney nuzzled her leg and meowed, looking pitifully at his empty dish.

"Aw, I'm sorry Mooney." she cooed at the cat as she knelt down and dipped the food side of the joint bowls into a bag that was nearby, filling it to the brim. "Hey, how about we all head down to the cafeteria and get some food."

Looking over, she noticed Nakya was asleep on her bed, covered in blood.

"My goodness! Is she okay? What happened?"

Yumi smiled at Logan, then looked at Rinsi. Her smile fell when Rinsi asked what happened.

"She's okay, though I'm not sure why she's unconscious. I think she's covered in Ichio's blood." She walked over to Nakya's bed, placing a hand on her forehead. "Her energy is so crazy."

"WHA-?!" Rinsi exclaimed when she heard that the blood covering Nakya was Ichios, "What happened to Ichio then? Ah, maybe you should get some rest and food. I now know you can manipulate energy, but you spent a lot on me. I can tell because you look tired. Let's get some food, and then we can see what we can do about Nakya. Yumi, what about you? Are you okay?"

Turning, Rinsi found Kelly – a student from her classroom with the ability to shape shift - standing in the room, looking rather curious and possibly even worried. He had apparently heard the noise and came to make sure everything was okay. Rinsi smiled at the person reassuringly, this time honestly now that she was feeling so much better.

"Oh, hello Kelly!" she said cheerfully, "Yes, everything is okay, thank you for asking. We were just going to get something to eat so we could help our friend out here. Would you like to come along?"

Yumi sighed. She really didn't want to explain everything at the moment.

"It's a long story. I'll tell you about it later, okay?" She looked at Rinsi, a pleading look in her eyes. "Let's just get something to eat." When Kelly entered the room, she replied, "Yeah, everything's okay now. You missed all the action." She chuckled, the strain showing in her voice.

"All right, but I'm holding you to that!" Rinsi told Yumi cheerfully, winking her eye.

Once again Rinsi's stomach growled loudly. She blushed a bit and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly at such rude noises from her stomach.

"I think that's my tummy's way of saying we need to get some chow."

Logan remained silent. He stared blankly at a wall. Not really listing to what was going on around him. He did pick out some new voices and words like food. He finally tore his gaze away from the wall, letting his eyes drift over the people in the room. He glanced at Nakya again.

"If I can help with anything later, let me know." he said looking at Yumi. "Have fun."

He stuck his hands back in his pockets and slipped from the room. There was really no need for him to come along and if Nakya was just going to sleep he would do something. But he hoped they would let him know if she got better, or worse. He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Oh?" Rinsi said, "You're not coming, Logan? That's a shame. If you're busy, it's understandable and we'll let you know how she's doing. But if you have nothing to do, maybe you can keep an eye on her in case she wakes up."

However, by that time Logan was already gone. She was talking to the air, and when she realized it, she flushed a little, and hoped Yumi hadn't noticed.

"Shall we?" Yumi said as a mighty grumble shook her belly. "I don't think my tummy's very happy with me." She laughed lightly.

Rinsi walked up to Yumi and locked elbows with her.

"We shall!" she said cheerfully as she lead her out of the room.

Rinsi figured Logan had his own reasons for not joining them, and it was not her business to pry. He seemed like he would be okay anyway, though he would be the first one she would hunt down once they had news on Nakya. For now she was content with making a bee line to the cafeteria with her new found friends.

All she could see was darkness. All she could smell was blood. Looking around the walls began to run red. Screaming, she bolted up right in bed, her eyes flying open. Looking down at her hand, she saw the blood and screamed again.

"It's not true! Tell me it was a bad dream!" Nakya screamed in terror.

She began trembling as she stared at the blood on her hand. _It's all my fault. His blood is on my hands, no one else's, _she thought. She didn't notice anyone else in the room. She couldn't hear anything else, just her words echoing

"You said you cared! I'm sorry!" The next thing she knew, the darkness was coming again, and she passed out, her head landing on her pillow.

Rinsi jumped a bit when she heard Nakya scream, and had turned around. They had just barely reached the hall way, so they could still see into the room without any problems. Seeing the girl awake, Rinsi was going to rush to her side and make sure she was ok, but the girl passed out again before she could.

"I don't know." Rinsi said, now concerned, "I hope she'll be okay. We'll do what we can to fix her once we get something to eat. We need the energy."

Yumi cringed when Nakya screamed.

"It's alright, she had an energy spike." she added, listening to Rinsi. Closing her eyes for a moment, she continued. "She's back to normal. She just needs rest now. I wish Ichio could go talk to her, though. That would speed up the process." She kept walking, not intending to elaborate. Her stomach growled again. "I need meat."

"You know what sounds good?" Rinsi said, trying to lighten the mood as she lead Yumi out of the room so Nakya could rest, "Chicken stir fry noodles. I know it's fattening as hell, but right now I think we could all do for a little comfort food."

Yumi smiled as Rinsi suggested food.

"I could use some Udon right now. I can't remember the last time I had it." She laughed, following Rinsi's lead as they entered the Cafeteria.

"Oh, god, don't tempt me!" Rinsi said enthusiastically at the mention of Udon, which made her stomach growl more.

Upon reaching the cafeteria, Rinsi immediately grabbed a plate and began heaping on the food. She was ashamed of looking like such a pig, but after not eating more than two bites in a forty-eight our span or more, she was famished, especially since the energy deficit earlier required more energy and she hadn't had the food energy to help replace it. Everything looked delicious and she wanted a little bit of everything.

"That's a good enough reason for me." Yumi laughed.

She grabbed a giant bowl of Udon with some chopsticks and gulped it down in record time, going back for seconds, and then thirds. It was delicious. It had to be homemade. When she was done, she stood.

"I should check on Nakya."

At that point Nakya walked into the room, grabbed some food and sat at a table a little ways away. Yumi felt her confidence hit rock bottom. She knew Nakya wanted to talk about Ichio, and wasn't looking forward to it.

"Ugh..." She groaned, walking towards Nakya.

Rinsi was happily slurping down noodles and downing chicken and vegetables faster than they ever had before. It was greasy, it was fattening, and she was loving every minute of it. Though she was normally a picky eater, this was one time she didn't really care. By the time she was done, she was stuffed like a holiday turkey. She leaned back and gave a contented sigh, patting her equally contented belly.

"That was so good!" she said cheerfully.

Looking over to talk to Yumi, Rinsi noticed she wasn't there, but instead over with the now awake Nakya. Not bothering to clean up her dishes, Rinsi walked over to them and sat on the other side of Nakya, listening quietly.

"I sent Logan after you, when you ran off. I was worried." Yumi was explaining as she kept playing with her chopstick, twirling it and bending it. "He brought you back to your room after he found you lying in Ichio's blood." She tried not to look Nakya in the eye.

Hearing Yumi say she had Logan go after you, Nakya nodded. Seeing Rinsi sit down, she smiled slightly at her, glad to see she was better. At the mention of Ichio's name, she felt her whole body tense up. Her heart felt as if it was breaking all over again. Determined not to show outwardly how she felt, she kept an expression devoid of all emotion on her face. Glancing casually at the boy, she looked back at Yumi.

"Whose that?" she asked dully. Frowning inwardly, she realized no matter how much she could control her body, she wouldn't be able to keep her true feelings hidden as long as she had to speak. Taking another bite of her bun, she waited for an answer.

Seeing her room mate so devoid of emotion, and even ask who Ichio was, worried Rinsi a lot. She could tell she was having an inward battle, and didn't want to show it, and Rinsi hated seeing that. Rinsi may have been dull in spotting blooming relationships, but she could read eyes like they were books, and Nakya's eyes were full of pain.

"Oh, don't give us that." Rinsi said, mockingly lecturing her, "Anyway, we're just glad you're okay. You had us worried about you. Come on, we're your friends, right? You can divulge in us."

"Nakya... Why did you go out there? There was a reason he went so far into the forest." She asked, getting to the point. Nakya looked uncomfortable, and she didn't want to drag the whole thing out.

"And what was that reason?" she asked, snapping at Yumi. "To disappear forever? To make me feel worse? I ended up out there because I was trying to run away from the truth, Yumi. I ran until I ended up collapsing."

As her anger grew, she could feel her head beginning to pound.

"The truth is I cared about him, Yumi. And because I couldn't be what he needed he left. For good. How would you feel after realizing that?"

Slamming her hands down on the table, she stood up and shakily walked out of the cafeteria. She began wandering the halls

Yumi stayed silent as Nakya yelled. She didn't understand, and didn't seem to want to. It didn't change the fact that she needed to explain things. She'd expected the yelling, after all. As Nakya rose and walked out, Yumi stood, saying to Rinsi, "Is it just me, or does she place every ounce of blame she can on herself?"

Yumi followed Nakya out into the hall, trying to figure out what to say. When she caught up, she said, "Nakya, calm down and I'll explain everything to you. But you have to calm down. It's not your fault he left. It's mine."

Hearing Yumi catch up to her, Nakya kept walking. Turning on her quickly, she asked "What do you mean it's your fault?"

Staring at the girl, not knowing whether to cry or be angry, she stood there with an expression tinted with pain on her face. Watching Yumi closely, she waited for an answer. Feeling dizzy from her headache, she leaned against the wall.

"When I went looking for you, even though he begged me not to, and caused everything that happened, Ichio couldn't take it. I've done this to him so many times, he couldn't bear it anymore. So he decided to make sure I had to clean everything up, make amends for everything I've done." Yumi looked down at her feet, fidgeting horribly. "He would have gone away immediately, but he wanted to see you one last time."

She looked up, into Nakya's eyes. Yumi had hurt her so much, and she'd done nothing but become more and more callous.

"Shall we take this conversation to the dorm?" Rinsi suggested as she approached the two girls. After Yumi had left, she had taken her tray to the kitchen to be cleaned, and immediately went after them. "I want to know that just as much as you, Nakya, but right now it looks like you're about to collapse. I think it's best we take this someplace where you can sit down before you pass out."

As she heard Rinsi's voice say they should take it to the dorm, Nakya nodded and began walking to the stairs. When Yumi said Ichio wanted to see her one last time, she froze. He had wanted to see her one last time... Inhaling slightly, she said "Do you know what one of the last things I said to him was..?"

As she waited for their reply, she closed her eyes and tears fell silently from her face. Reaching out for Rinsi, a whimper escaped from her chest.

Sensing her friend needed a hug, Rinsi wrapped her arm around the girl's shoulders. She was worried about her, but continued to smile, hoping it would be contagious as it normally was.

"Nakya, if you worry about that too much, it won't do any good. He'll come back, but I think he just needed some time and a means to teach Yumi not to make him clean up the mess. She's learning quickly, too!"

Yumi watched the tears fall from Nakya's eyes.

"You begged him to stay... And he wouldn't listen." She whispered, feeling the guilt multiply on her shoulders. "He'd made his decision long before, and he's always been stubborn. He wanted to stay, so badly. I tried to make him, tried to do anything, but I couldn't bear to come back out. I was too afraid." She admitted, feeling her own tears begin to fall.

As she continued crying, Nakya began walking up the stairs. Barely more than a whisper, she said "And I told him.. that I couldn't be with someone who didn't trust me.."

As she reached the top of the stairs, she went through the door, knowing full well that Yumi and Rinsi were behind her. Walking down the hall, lost in her thoughts, she walked into their room and lay down on the bed.

"He wanted to see me one last time and I told him I couldn't be with him because he didn't trust me..." Closing her eyes, her tears streamed down her face.

Upon reaching their room, Rinsi made sure Nakya was safely sitting on her bed before anything else. She took her violin and it's bow from the case and began playing a soft, slow, and yet happy lullaby on it, hoping it would help calm her crying friend. The tune started off soft and slow, as a means of calming the soul and bringing peace, but Rinsi knew that the first part of the song was rather deceiving, though with a good purpose. She just hoped it really was helping. Her last spell had failed, and she was still angry at herself for this, but maybe hearing something like this would help.

"He knew you didn't understand how the situation worked. He was willing to explain things to you. He wanted to, but he never got a chance. He would have, but... I messed it all up." Yumi looked at her feet as she stood in front of Nakya's bed, unwilling to leave, and unwilling to stay.

Sitting up slowly, feeling calmer thanks to Rinsi's music, she asked, "Would you guys mind if I went for a walk? I need to get some air."

Standing up, she smiled slightly, before walking over to the door. Waiting for their answer, she dried her eyes and kissed Yumi on the cheek. Walking out the door, she became lost in her thoughts. Walking down the halls, she wandered around not paying attention to anything. Turning a corner, she saw Re getting a hug from... Ki'iro.. Feeling as if the wind had been knocked out of her twice in one day, she walked past them silently and went to sit on the front steps of the school.

Rinsi figured Nakya would need some space to think, so she didn't follow. She wanted to badly, to make sure her friend was okay and wouldn't do anything drastic, but she also knew that doing so might have more negative consequences than positive ones. Sighing to herself, she continued to play her violin, letting herself be engulfed in the music as it slowly began to pick up pace. It was too bad that Nakya had missed the rest of the song, as it was really quite lovely and very uplifting, but Rinsi would play it for her later. Once this song was done, though, she had a phone call to make. She needed to talk to her auntie and find out just how many spells she had been taught.

* * *

**Author's note:** Yay, Rinsi is back! Okay, so she still doesn't do much in this chapter, and I'm sorry about that. It'll turn back to her more later. I just felt this had to come first, to explain a few things. Or maybe to add to the drama. Who knows?


	12. Gates of Heaven

Rinsi had long since finished practicing with her violin, and was now holding a telephone to her ear, waiting for her auntie to pick up the phone. She tapped her foot impatiently, and for once her face did not hold a smile. She had a notepad and pen next to her so she could take notes on the ensuing conversation.

"Hello?" came a familiar voice on the other end.

"Auntie, it's me."

"Rinsi! How are you dear?"

"I'm fine, but I need some information."

"You sound serious....You performed the dance all the way, didn't you? I told you not to!"

"You know me too well, auntie. I couldn't help it! I was having so much fun that I couldn't stop. I didn't know it was a spell. Why didn't you tell me it was such a powerful spell?"

"We didn't want to risk you performing it to see what you could do."

"And you think withholding such vital information would mean I wouldn't perform it at all?!"

"I'm sorry dear. We should have known you would have anyway."

"What other spells did you teach me without me knowing it?"

"I can't tell you dear."

"Why not?"

"I don't want you performing them."

"Why not? I might do it anyway without knowing again. And what was that spell for?"

"Rinsi," her aunt continued, "don't ever perform that spell again!"

"Why not? What does it do?"

"...Rin, darling, you have a special power...."

"Yeah, that's why I'm here."

"...You have in you the power to bring this world into a utopia. You've inherited it from your parents. That spell is what will do it, but it comes with a price. It's a soul sucker, a spell that will literally suck the power and energy from your soul, and if you complete it to full power, it will kill you. No, it will do worse than that. Completing it to full power means your soul will be gone, so you won't have an afterlife. Besides, Rin, the world isn't ready for a utopia. As long as there is war, hatred, greed, or evil in man's heart, the world will never be ready."

"What about the other spells?" Rinsi said, furiously scribbling all this down on her note pad.

"I can't..."

"Then put uncle on the phone." Rinsi said, almost demanding. She didn't like to be so rude, but she knew that would be the only way to get her uncle on the phone, who she knew would tell her everything.

"Hi, Rin." her uncle's voice came over the receiver.

"Uncle, what were the other spells you guys taught me and didn't tell me?"

"Knowing you, you're already writing all this down."

"You know me too well. It's kind of creepy."

"Your aunt tells me you performed the forbidden dance all the way through. That means you already know it's called 'Starlight'."

"Yeah."

"It's a spell to bring supreme happiness to an area. Full strength will spread it throughout the world. It's temporary, but in that time that everyone is so happy, it could start a chain of events that will completely end all wars for good and cause changes that will bring the world into a utopia. But it's a soul sucker --"

"Yeah," Rinsi said, cutting him off as she scribbled all of this down, "auntie told me that part."

"There are other spells we taught you. All but one of them are in the form of a dance, as is the family style. The one that isn't a dance is a lullaby on the violin we taught you. Oddly enough, it's your favorite song."

"You mean...that song is a spell?!"

"Yes. It's called 'Celestial Wind'. It's a summoning song."

"And the other dance spells?"

"'Moonlight' is a spell that will heal a group of people. 'Moon Halo' is a spell that casts a barrier. 'Asteroid Belt' will create a wall of energy, and there is another called 'Gates of Heaven' but you'll have to find out what that does on your own. Anything else? Do you know other spells?"

"Yeah, 'Star Children' and 'Sunlight', but those are kind of difficult."

"Well, keep up the practice, Rin. Sorry for hiding all of this from you. We just wanted you to live a normal life."

"I understand. I have to go now, uncle. I love you and auntie, and thank you."

"All right. Keep in touch, Hon."

"'Bye."

Rinsi hung up the phone and sat on her bed, completely forgetting the notepad that was by the phone. She covered her hand with her mouth, deep in thought. The spell she had performed the night before, the one bearing her last name, could kill her if she tried to bring the world into a utopia? This was a very heavy thought for her.

Rinsi stood and went into the bathroom. She hadn't showered for 36 hours at least, and she felt gross. Being clean might help her a bit, and the hot water would feel good on her body and allow her to think a bit more.

The hot water had been very relaxing, and Rinsi had done a lot of thinking. A lot of serious thinking, which was rare for her. She wanted so badly to bring this world to a utopia. She was so tired of all the sadness and the anger and hatred. She hated it. She felt it much of the time herself, but covered it with a smile to bring other people joy. She wanted all that sadness to go away. But was she ready to do so at the cost of not just her life, but her soul? It was a heavy burden to carry.

After stepping out of the shower, she toweled off and slipped into a cute, but expensive looking pair of shorts and a nice t-shirt. With her long raven locks wrapped in a green towel, she carefully slipped on her expensive running sneakers before pulling her hair back. Her mind was going two miles a minute and she needed a way to relax a bit while getting something productive done. So, she decided to practice. She hadn't done so in a couple of days and was here to get control of her powers. She jogged out to the fighting area and practiced her martial arts first just as a warm up. What she had forgotten, though, was that she left her notepad on the bed, open to the page with her notes on it.

His powers were quite useful to his friends, and he was glad for that, though he wished he could get rid of his limitations. Now was the time he was useful. Gene had asked him to follow this Rinsi woman for a bit. She apparently was just finding out about her powers, and right now was dangerous, though mostly to herself, or so it seemed to him. He'd heard about how drained she had become, and then her injuries on top of it. Mostly it was Yumi who was under investigation, but Rinsi had to be watched as well, and teleporting was a fine way to do so without being caught.

This time Kurt had caught her just as she was leaving her room. This was a perfect time to investigate her room. The door was closed tight, but that was fine. He'd seen the inside before on a previous investigation so he had no troubles poofing into her room once she was well out of sight and hearing range.

Kurt looked around the room warily. Even if she wasn't there, her cat could be. Fortunately, it was not. Knowing anything, it was running amuck around the campus as usual, disturbing classes by flaunting it's cuteness to those who appreciated it. All the better for him. As he looked around, a small, white rectangle on the nightstand caught his eye. It was a note pad, and on it was her handwriting. It was legible, and in fact looked quite nice. His golden eyes widened at what he read. A dark blue hand reached out and picked it up gently, as if it would bite. He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and a pen and began to copy word for word what was on the pad of paper. Gene would love to see this.

Once he was done, Kurt slipped the pen and paper in his pocket and placed the notepad as he found it. The last thing he needed was for her to come back and find it out of place, or even gone. That would raise too much suspicion. A cloud of black smoke appeared and was gone as quickly as it came, carrying Kurt with it into the hall way.

"Up to your old tricks again, I see." Came a rough voice behind.

"Nosing out of ze usual." Kurt said, turning to face his old friend, who usually had a hot temper that matched his nickname well. "Vat brings you here, Logan?"

"Just visiting friends. Where can I find Gene?"

"Principal's office. I'm on my vay zer myself."

"Good. You can show me the way." Logan said gruffly.

After practicing her martial arts, Rinsi was already panting a bit, but she felt good, in spite of her stirring thoughts. The workout always made her feel good, and somehow confident. Next on her agenda was practicing her spells. She could work on the ones she knew, to control how much energy she consumed, but she wanted to figure out what dance was what spell. The one spell she wouldn't work on, though, was 'Starlight'.

Rinsi had begun spinning and dancing around with her lantern staff again, but to a different dance. The moon lantern dangled from its extension as she spun and bounced gracefully about, and as her body began to glow faintly again. However, she heard a twig snap nearby and turned to see who it was. Behind her she saw a young man, probably not far from her age. She smiled at him and waved him over.

Jason's eyes shot down as he snapped something that gained the girls attention. As part snake, he was usually stealthier than this. He rolled his eyes - eye, at himself, and moved forward when she beckoned him.

"Hey" he said, smiling to her.

"Hello!" Rinsi said cheerfully, "What's your name?"

Rinsi wasn't sure who this person was, but they looked interesting, and their little interruption did help clear her head a bit. That was exactly the thing she needed, to have her head cleared a bit.

"I'm Jason Slan" He told her happily. She was very up-beat, she was good in his book already. He asked the question back "What's your name?"

"Nice to meet you, Jason." Rinsi said cheerfully, "I'm Rinsi Starlight. Well, since you're here, I take it you have special abilities too. What are they?"

It's not that Rinsi was trying to be rude, but just that she was curious, and needed a bit of a distraction at the moment.

Rinsi was direct. Jason smiled and answered quickly.

"Well, I walk on my hands, and juggle - not at the same time, mind you, and I'm working on a trapeze act and I can do this--" Jason's torso fell backwards so he was on his hands and feet with his stomach upwards, and he went into a tumble and wound up back on his feet, "But I guess you probably mean my powers...I'm a snake demon! Snake form and poisons, you know.." He said with a grin, it faded slightly when he told her what his real powers were. He didn't intend to show her either of his powers right now - one, because it was hard to demonstrate a poison without poisoning someone and, two, he didn't want to give her a show when he came out of his animal form.

"Wow, really?!" Rinsi said excitedly, "A snake demon and a circus performer! Now THAT is talent! It must be really nifty!"

"Heh. Yeah, thanks!" Jason said, he did well to hide that he was a little bothered by being a circus performer, even though he loved what he could do and that he could entertain others.

"What about you?" Jason asked Rinsi, "I saw you dancing earlier..You're very good"

"Ah, thanks." Rinsi said, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly, "I was...er...trying out a dance I was taught to see what spell it was."

"A spell, huh?" Jason asked. He was sorry to have interrupted her. "I've never heard of dancing spells!"

Between all the fortune tellers and magicians and witches he'd met in the circus, he had never known any of them to perform spells that relied on dancing.

"Um, well, it's the only way I know how to perform most of my spells. I was taught them when I was young, but I was never told the dance was a spell. I just found out recently." Rinsi said sheepishly.

Jason thought about this for a bit. To teach a kid how to do something without telling her what might happen...

"That seems a little dangerous…" He told Rinsi, a brow raised. "How are you doing with them?"

"Yeah, it is." Rinsi said, trying not to let herself get serious, "Well, so far I've figured out my favorite dance is also the most powerful and energy draining one. I was just about to figure out what my second favorite dance was. You can watch if you want. I just hope it's not 'Gates of Heaven' though."

After leaving Rinsi, Jason continued to search around the school. He hadn't gone to the cafeteria yet, like he had intended to, so he sniffed the air. He was soon headed for the cafeteria, hunger starting to rumble in his belly.

After her visitor went his own way, Rinsi went back to her dances, trying to figure out which did which spell. As she dance and twirled as gracefully as a ballerina, she also spun and waved her staff around her. She felt happy in her dance, but also oddly peaceful. This feeling began to grow the more she danced, and she soon began to glow again. As Rinsi danced more, she felt more and more peaceful. Almost heavenly. She loved this feeling, and once again wanted everyone else to know this peace and happiness. It was as strong as Starlight, but different in a way. As she dance and spun, twirling her staff in pace with her dancing, she waited for the words to come to her that she would declare, finishing up the spell.

Rinsi knew she was approaching the completion of the dance, and would have felt worried that the name had not come to her yet, but she felt so happy and at peace that it didn't matter. She spun gracefully as a ballerina, and just as lightly. As the end came, two words whispered through her mind. They were not loud or begging, like with Starlight, but more like soft and loving almost. At the end of her dance, she fell to a kneeling position, folding her hands as if in prayer around her staff. Closing her eyes and smiling peacefully, she uttered those words, thus finishing the spell.

"Gates of Heaven." she said, in a voice she almost thought was not her own.

A light seemed to beam down from the heavens themselves and strike the ground. It was not harsh or harmful, but instead was soft and warm. The area around her glowed brightly, and began to grow outward, like ripples on a pond, until nearly the whole school grounds were covered with light. This light brought a feeling of peace and comfort she had never known before, and with it came a holy blessing that she knew would hurt the shadows and demons that resided in the school. She was immediately sorry, and bolted to her feet and jogged towards the school building. The first people she would check with were Ki'iro, Jason, and Nakya.

Ki'iro smiled softly and sat down on his bed, he took the notebook from her and read. He was talking to a girl named Re, who could not speak, so instead wrote what she thought. She had a very special ability with crystals.

"No no, really. It's fine Re, no problem," he said, yawning loudly. He stretched his arms up and propped himself up with his elbows. "If you ever need me for anything, I'll be here," he smiled kindly. "What was your dream about? If you don't mind my asking."

Suddenly kneeling over, Ki'iro coughed heavily. "Wha-What the..." His mind was slowly blacking out, his energy was draining from him. "Shadow..." He called softly, trying to pull shadows up towards him to comfort him. Nothing happened. Ki'iro coughed loudly again and fell off the bed, his eyes closing.

Re couldn't help but smile until he asked about the dream. Then she had looked down slightly, gripping the ball on paper in her hand. But she looked up suddenly when he coughed and said something, wondering what was wrong. She quickly went to his side and without thinking, for some reason, went on her hands and knees to make a shadow over him. It was has if her shadow was hugging him, which was what she wanted to do, but not knowing what to do held herself from doing so.

Re starting looking through her mind for her special crystal, once finding it, used all her power to slowly remove it from her body. Breathing heavily and getting weak, Re slowly made the crystal enter Ki'iro's forehand. She lowered, almost laying on him in pain and covered in a cold sweat, her face very close to his.

Re closed her eyes and called to him.

_'Ki'iro...Ki'iro it's Re, can you hear me? W-What do I do..?'_ She said in his mind, her voice sounding like music but with a sound of fear and pain.

Rinsi panted for air as she sprinted through the school, looking for her friends. The first one she came upon was Ki'iro, and he looked in horrible shape.

"Ki'iro!" she exclaimed as she ran up him, "Hey, are you okay? Come on, stay awake!"

Ki'iro coughed again, and felt comforted by the darkness that she provided. His eyes opened halfway and slowly.

"R-Re...your voice..." he said with a soft smile on his face. "It's beautiful..." he whispered. He opened his eyes completely to see her fatigued.

"Are you okay...?" He asked her weakly. Ki'iro's forehead was covered in sweat, and frankly, hurt quite a bit in one spot. "Why can I hear you now?" He questioned.

Ki'iro wrapped his arms around Re and embraced her softly. Being weak, he couldn't do much. He looked up at Rinsi who had just sprinted into his dorm room. Coughing again, his mouth filled with a copper taste.

"F-fine...what did you do...?"

Re rested when he embraced her, so happy he was ok, and hugged him weakily.

_'This..This is one of my powers, though I can only use it on one person...'_ She laughed slightly at his questions. _'I'm so happy..that your ok...'_ She mumbled off, being very tried and weak now.

Re opened her eyes slowly, looking at Rinsi as good as she could without moving, a small smile on her face, before closing her eyes again.

"Ah, crap..." Rinsi said as Re looked at her briefly before passing out.

Not knowing if Re was his room mate or not, she carefully pulled the girl off to the side. She was heavy, and would be hard to lift without help. Since Ki'iro was still semi conscious, she carefully helped him up and sat him on his bed.

"I'm so sorry..." she said as she lifted him up, "This is my fault. I didn't know that was such a big spell."

Once Ki'iro was safe on her bed, she turned to Re, wondering how she would lift the girl up. Deciding on what she would do, she knelt next to the unconscious girl and carefully lifted her to a sitting position. Leaning the girl on her shoulder, she carefully hoisted her up while holding on to her legs. It strained her back a bit, but not too bad as she did all of the lifting with her powerful legs. She stood, but only long enough to lean forward and set the girl on the other bed. Once Re was in a sitting position, she leaned her back until she was lying down, and carefully scooted her towards the other side of the bed a bit so she wouldn't fall off. By the time she was done, she was huffing and puffing for air, and felt a little weak from the combination of the spell and all the exercise.

"Is she okay? Are you okay?" Rinsi said, panting for air.

Ki'iro sat up in the bed and looked over at Re. Moving his legs so they were off the side of the bed, he reached over to her. His hand stroked the side of her face.

"Why me?" He asked quietly. Ki'iro didn't take his eyes off of her when he answered Rinsi's questions. "I'm fine, I should be fine. She should be fine too, she's just a little tired. She needs rest. Um, she's not my room mate. I'll move her to my bed later if she doesn't wake up. What did you do?" He repeated his question. "I can't...control anything," he said as he moved his hand, attempting to lift a shadow. The shadow bulged in the middle then fell back to the ground.

Rinsi looked down, and for the first time since arriving, she looked like she was going to cry.

"I used a spell...I called my auntie and uncle 'cause the dance I performed at the dance was a spell and I didn't know it until I performed it. I wanted to know what other dances and spells I had been taught. I was training to see which dance is which spell, since I don't know until the spell is complete, and I performed a blessing spell called 'Gates of Heaven'. It's supposed to bring a heavenly blessing, but with that it means that it will bring a sense of peace, as well as healing curses and hurting shadows, dark magic, and demons." she blurted as quickly as she could while choking back tears. "I'm sorry, so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt anyone!"

All of a sudden Nakya felt a terrible pain in her chest, and saw darkness closing in on her. Shaking her head, she heard a noise. She saw Rinsi. Rinsi would help her. Standing, she fell to her knees, weak from the pain. Gasping for air, and fighting off the darkness, she used all her strength and began dragging herself towards the room she saw Rinsi going to. Growing weaker and weaker by the moment, she finally collapsed on the floor outside the door, her fingertips just inside the room, her body slipping into unconsciousness.

"Rinsi..." she said weakly, before slipping away.

Hearing a sound behind her, she turned and saw Nakya lying on the floor, close to unconsciousness.

"Nakya!"

Rinsi ran up to Nakya, and carefully lifted her up enough to bring her into the room and lean her against a wall.

"I'm sorry, Nakya..." she said, choking back more tears.

Ki'iro glared at Rinsi, he would have normally yelled at her by now, but he was far too concerned with how Re was feeling and her well-being. Sighing heavily, he closed his eyes softly and tried again to lift up a shadow.

_My powers are so...weak..._

Weakly Nakya opened her eyes and saw Rinsi.

"Rinsi..." she said, softly. "What happened?"

"Where's Ki'iro? I need Ki'iro." she asked, suddenly feeling frightened as she could still feel a bit of the pain.

Nakya was still out of it enough, that she didn't realize where she was. A spasm shook her body as she doubled over in pain, moaning softly.

"It's okay." Rinsi said, forcing on a smile as tears threatened to escape her eyelids. "Ki'iro is in here. But he's really tired. Just stay right here okay? It's a temporary spell. It'll wear off in a minute or two. I'm so sorry!"

Rinsi turned back to Ki'iro and Re, her eyes on the floor.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I just wanted to know what dance was what spell. Auntie and uncle never told me those were spells, and now I have to find out on my own. I'm so sorry..."

Ki'iro just stared up at Rinsi, he was obviously upset.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't try out your little powers on other people. Training your powers is one thing, experimenting while somebody else's life could be on the line is something completely different." His voice was flat, he didn't know what else to say.

"I'm sorry..." she said again, "I wasn't meaning to. I didn't know the spell would spread like that. I even made sure no one was around when I performed the dance, just to be sure. I'm so sorry..."

"Sorry doesn't cut it Rinsi!" He stood up, staring into her face. "You hurt me, in the process, you hurt Re! And you probably hurt multiple other students..." his voice trailed off suddenly, "You probably even hurt Naky-" his voice cut off as he saw her on his floor.

"Nakya!" He yelled, hoisting her body up into his arms with a fair amount of difficulty. A moment later, his body faltered, sending both of them to the ground. He sat beside her,

"Nakya, Nakya! Are you okay? Stay awake, talk to me..." his voice became a whisper.

The tears that threatened to escape finally rolled down her cheeks as Rinsi began to sob softly to herself. She knew he was right. Even though she hadn't meant to, she had hurt a lot of people. Even worse, she had hurt her friends, and didn't know how to fix it. She was hurt that he held no understanding or forgiveness for her, but she couldn't blame him either. She had done something terrible, and she had to make up for it somehow, but the only thing she could think of would involve using her powers, and at this point she didn't want to any more. Even if they could help a few people, it hurt far more, and she couldn't do that any more. She hated this feeling. Her whole existence was to help others. Her cheery attitude was merely there so she could help cheer people up. And yet the powers she was born with, which would seem to be there to help others, was hurting people, and she couldn't stand it.

"I'm sorry..." she repeated, through soft sobs, "I didn't mean to hurt anyone..."

Rinsi wrapped Nakya's arm around the back of her neck, and used her free hand to lift her by the waist. She was heavy, but Rinsi would manage.

"I'll leave you alone now. I'm so sorry. Please, tell me if Re is okay later so I can make amends."

Feeling pain run through her body, Nakya moaned softly before fluttering her eyes open. She saw Ki'iro beside her.

"Ki'iro.." she said, barely above a whisper. Reaching up, she touched his cheek with a trembling finger. "Are you okay..?"

Slowly, she moved over, so her head was resting against his chest. She felt so weak, and she knew she wouldn't be able to fight off the darkness much longer, unless... some water might help her.

"Rinsi.. I need water…" she said softly.

"You're the only one I want Ki'iro... the only one.." she whispered, wrapping her arm around Ki'iro's waist. Feeling her body being lifted up, she opened her eyes slightly, weakly protesting.

"I want to stay..." she said no louder than a whisper.

Ki'iro's heart sank as she told him she only wanted him.

"N-nakya...." his voice trailed off.

He didn't know what to say to her right now. He knew what she wanted to hear, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. He sat in silence and stroked her hair, attempting to comfort her.

Rinsi carefully carried Nakya to the bathroom and sat her down carefully on the toilet - after lowering the lid, of course. She looked around for a cup and turned on the faucet, hoping that she could somehow bring some water to her weakened room mate, all while trying to think of a way to fix everything.

Hearing Ki'iro faltering when she told him how she felt, she let Rinsi carry her to the bathroom.

"I was too late.. He doesn't care anymore." she told Rinsi sitting down.

A pained expression crossed her face.

"Leave me here Rinsi, I don't care what happens to me, just leave me be." Sounding weaker then ever, Nakya slid to the floor and crawled over to the shower. Crawling in, she laid in the fetal position and let herself cry to sleep.

"I won't leave you alone, Nakya." Rinsi said through tear filled eyes. "Especially not after hurting everyone, including you. There's only one way I can think of to fix this, but it means using another spell, and I can't do that again."

Ki'iro sighed heavily and looked at Nakya as she left. He moved into the bathroom with her and simply whispered into her ear.

"I want to be with you too Nakya...But...I've just started to get over you.." his voice trailed off as tears filled his eyes. "I told you I couldn't keep doing this...I need time to decide on what I need to do..."

His voice was cracking, and he walked away from Nakya, heading back into his room. Ki'iro crawled into bed next to Re, falling asleep softly.

Rinsi carefully lifted Nakya out of the bath tub and threw the girl over her shoulder. She was really heavy, and she knew it wouldn't be a fun walk back to their dorm, but it had to be done. Slowly she managed to leave Ki'iro's room and walk down the hall towards their own. Gasping for air between soft sobs to herself in deep regret, she somehow managed to get Nakya to their room and lay her on her own bed and carefully cover her with the blankets. Rinsi sat on her bed and began reviewing the notes she had taken earlier. She would need to make another phone call later, but for now she just thought about it all, reading over the neat scribbles on the page.

Starlight: spell of supreme happiness. Can bring world to utopia. soul sucker. If used at full power, it will completely drain the soul and kill it.

Moonlight: Spell of healing. Heals a large group of people.

Gates of Heaven: Blessing spell. Brings peace and does away with curses, shadows and demons.

Moon Halo: Barrier spell.

Asteroid belt: Creates wall of energy.

Celestial Winds: Summons spell. Research 'summons'.

Rinsi mulled over these for a moment, before stepping into the shower. Her practicing earlier, plus sprinting to the school to make sure everyone was okay, plus carrying Nakya to their room, made her sweat a lot. The hot water felt good on her aching body, but did nothing to help ease her guilt ridden mind. Why did she have to be born with such powers? Why did she have to be the one to hurt everyone, instead of healing them like she was supposed to? What good was she?

Meanwhile, the principal, Gene Grey, was on the phone.

" Yeah, it's me." she said to the other person on the line.

"Is this call about what I think it is?" came the other voice, one very familiar to her and her friends by now.

"Yes, it is. You were right. She's the one."

"What happened?"

"She cast Gates of Heaven for the first time. It enveloped all of the school grounds."

"Oh, dear. That will be quite a mess to clean up. I've sent some friends to help."

"They've arrived already. Professor, if she's going to do what we think she will do, why send me extra help?"

"You never know. You may need it."

Gene was quiet for a moment. When the Professor said something like that, she knew he knew something. However, it was best not to ask.

"Do you really think it's right for us to do this?" she asked, finally.

"Probably not, but in the long run it's the best."

Gene wanted to argue, but that wasn't smart. The Professor knew what he was doing, even if she didn't. However, she didn't like where this was going...

* * *

**Author's Note:** Yes, I know, it's a long chapter. But hey! You get to see Wolverine and Nightcrawler. Cool huh?! You're welcome. Yes, that's it. Praise me! MWAHAHAHAHAHA! Okay, so not really. Anyway, hope y'all enjoyed. You know the deal by now. All pasted from an rp thread, so it might not make much sense. Blah blah blah. Still need a beta tester, blah blah blah. Leave feedback!


	13. Moonlight!

When Rinsi finally got to her room, she realized how exhausted she was. She walked up to her bed and tossed the notepad on it onto the desk they shared in the room, not even remembering it was still open to her notes, so that they could be easily read. She felt like she didn't deserve anything good, much less rest, but at the same time she welcomed the numbness that would come with sleep. It was better than this endless anguish she felt for hurting so many people so badly. She crawled between the sheets and closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to come...

But it didn't. Her mind was too restless. She tossed and turned, and even covered her face with the pillow, but nothing helped.

Rinsi hated to sit still for so long. It always drove her nuts, especially when she was alone with her thoughts. So, after calling her aunt and uncle and really giving them an earful about not telling her that the dances they had taught her ended up being spells that were hurting people, she snuck out into the hallway. She was on her way to the library, but stepped lightly, her senses alert. She didn't want anyone to see her, fearing they would hate her for hurting them and say harsh things again, or try to hurt her. She deserved it, but she didn't want it. She just had to get something to read to take her mind off of things. Most likely some research to see what she could do to fix this without using her powers. Mooney walked along side of her, his ears perked up and alert, though he was far more laid back.

Renny, a young girl with silver hair, pushed a tiny bit of herself into her animal which then jumped down to the floor and began running around. Kiri had quite the personality, which was in no way related to Renny's. She smiled at the creature and followed it down the hall. Sticking its nose up into the air, it smelt a cat. Getting excited, it charged down the hall and ran smack into its nose.

"Kiri!" Renny yelled after it as she moved quickly down the hall attempting to follow her companion.

"Oh, dear..." Rinsi said when a small stuffed animal ran right into Mooney's face. "Mooney, are you okay?"

Mooney was already freaking out. He had jumped back and hissed at the toy that had assaulted his face, but then became curious. His body relaxed and he began to sniff at the toy cautiously, wondering how it could move on its own.

Kiri sneezed as it breathed in a cat hair. It jumped up and down, excited that it was around something its height. Renny turned a corner and smiled at the girl apologetically.

"I'm so sorry about that! Kiri. Be good," she scorned the animal. "I'm Renny, new here, just arrived," she said, slightly out of breath. She held her hand out to the girl with a big smile across her face.

Rinsi was glad this person was new, and thus not hurt by her. She forced on a smile and shook the girl's hand warmly.

"It's all right. Mooney is the friendly type anyway. It's nice to meet you, Renny. I'm...."

Rinsi thought for a moment. Should she really tell this girl her name? What if someone told her how horrible she was and how she had hurt so many people. However, not telling the girl her name would be rude. She'd just have to go out on a limb on this one.

"I'm Rinsi Starlight."

"Oooo!" She cooed, "What a pretty name!" She smiled widely and shook her hand ecstatically. "Well, I really should be off to my dorm now, unpacking and such and such." She smiled as she looked at her cat and Kiri having a good time. "Come on Kiri, we should go."

When her cat was reluctant to leave, Renny sighed heavily.

"I don't want to do this to you, Kiri," she whispered as she pulled the life out of it and pushed it back into her own being. The animal fell limp to the floor and turned back into a stuffed animal. Renny smiled softly to the girl and picked up Kiri.

"I'll be in dorm nine if you need me! It was nice to meet you Rinsi!" She called as she walked away and walked into her dorm room.

Rinsi smiled a bit - this time genuinely - at the complement. She had been curious as to why the girl was there, but found out when the doll became unanimated. She thought to herself how nifty a skill that could be, and almost forgot the real reason she was out there. She was looking for the library and trying not to be seen. Well, that last part had failed already.

Rinsi wondered down the halls, still looking for the library when she saw Logan and another girl just down the hall. She wasn't sure if she had hurt him or not, though they both looked like they were okay. Still, she ducked around a corner, hoping she hadn't been seen. When Logan and the girl finally left, Rinsi came back around the corner and began walking down the hall again, looking for the library.

As she walked along, Rinsi realized she wanted to practice. As much as she hated using her powers, perhaps there was a chance she could use them to redeem herself. After all, she was never one to stay depressed like that, and already she was tired of it. Still, she was afraid of people seeing her and hating her for hurting them, and she knew that it was very likely that, no matter what she did to redeem herself, people like Ki'iro would still hate her. Still, she could at least try. Not trying meant giving up, and she was never one to give up. She was simply too stubborn.

After waiting until dark, Rinsi carefully made it back to her room and got changed into her ninja outfit. She had originally bought it as a cosplay - after all, she LOVED to cosplay - but now it would serve another purpose. It would serve to help conceal her against the night, to hide her in the shadows that she had previously blessed, to keep her undetected as she had been trained to do on occasion.

After tying the last tie around her ankles and wrists, she grabbed her staff and wondered out into the hallway. She did not dare light her way with the staff, as she normally would, so she let the light of the moon guide her towards an exit. Once she was outside, she noticed the air was cool and refreshing. It brought a bit of a smile to her face. She carefully made her way around the grounds, studying every external inch. After finding a place that was shaded by trees and thus would give her good cover, she began to dance. She hated that she was about to use her powers, but it was the only way she could think of to fix everything. With only three dances left - two of which were far too short and chaotic to be used for healing - it was a simple process of elimination. The only dance left that did not seem appropriate for battle was Moonlight, her mass healing spell. She wasn't sure if it only healed physical injuries, or if it restored energy as well, but she would find out mid-dance. She was beginning to realize that she could know what dance was what spell by how she felt as she danced, and had wished she had figured that out sooner.

Rinsi began slow, as the dance was supposed to. She raised her staff above her head, and then formed a circle around herself, top to bottom, with the staff. From there she swung the staff out to her side, spun, then brought the staff straight in front of her to pass it off to the other hand. And from there began the rest of the dance. Spinning and twirling both her staff and herself in a slow, but oddly energizing dance, she began to glow softly. The feeling of being energized told her that this spell would indeed restore energy as well as heal any physical injuries. As she danced, she wondered if it could cure illnesses as well, but she could wait on that. For now she was content that energy could be restored to those she had hurt, even those she had remotely hurt, like Re. This could even heal Jason's concussion, and the pounding migraine she knew was with it.

After a few moments of dancing, her glowing was so intense she was afraid she would be seen. However, she also couldn't risk stopping. She had to make sure this would fix everything, whether or not people chose to forgive her. She felt happy now - a feeling she gladly welcomed - and at the same time she felt energized, and filled with a sense of well-being. Perhaps this was a hint that it could cure illness, or perhaps it came with being energized. She didn't know, and at the moment, she didn't care. As the feeling seemed to saturate every fiber of her being, the same glowing, ethereal wings sprouted from her back. She felt calm and collected as she danced and danced, and knew she was approaching the end of the spell. Two words - or perhaps one compound word - began to whisper through her mind. It was not begging, not even pleading. Instead this one was soft and passionate, like a lover whispering sweet nothings in her ear. As she approached the end of the dance, she slowly brought her staff up above her head, holding on to the very bottom of it with both hands, and declared those words that so lovingly spoke to her.

"Moonlight!" she declared, afraid she might have been heard on accident.

Just as she uttered those words, the moon itself seemed to smile down on her, sending a glowing beam down on her like a stream of light from heaven. This beam soon widened, growing and growing, like a balloon being filled with air. And, just like a balloon that had been filled too far, the light exploded outward, encompassing the entire campus and even some of the surrounding woods, filling everything with a sense of peace and well being, healing all injuries, and energizing everyone within the blast radius as though they not only had a wonderful night of sleep, but had also eaten foods that would fill them with energy and make them feel like they could take the day by the horns.

Jason was soon feeling the affect of having ice pretty much right on his head. He tossed the baggy and went to his room to warm up. Sitting on his bed, because he wasn't supposed to sleep since that could cause greater problems, Jason watched his window.

He leaned forward whenhe thought he saw something moving outside. He watched carefully for a while, then heard a voice, and then finally the moon became very bright. He could see someone was out there.

Jason slipped on two black hoodies this time and quickly went outside. He stopped holding his head, noticing that his migraine was gone.

Now more stealthy than ever, Jason moved toward the person quietly. He hid behind trees. When he was close enough, though, he sniffed the air.

"Rinsi?" Jason whispered. Her disguise couldn't hide her scent, which he recognized easily. He stepped out from behind the tree and moved toward her, "What are you doing out here?"

At the sound of someone calling her name, Rinsi jumped a bit. It had startled her, and she found a knot forming in her stomach as she knew she had been caught. She turned around slowly to find Jason standing behind her. She took a couple of steps back, afraid he might be angry at her for hurting so many people like Ki'iro was and huddled over her staff.

"J-Jason..." she stammered, "You're okay, aren't you? I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt anyone!"

Jason looked confused by what Rinsi was talking about. He shook his head, his mouth hung open a little as he tried to think of what to say.

"I'm fine...What are you talking about?" He finally asked. He didn't remember how or why he had fallen, only that that's supposedly what happened. Plus, he only had a very, very slight bump now.

"Are you okay, Rinsi?" He asked and took a step towards her. Out of the shadow of the tree, his left eye quickly adjusted to the bright moonlight - a fine slit of a pupil, compared to his glass eye, it was easy to tell he was better.

Rinsi was obviously confused. How could he not know what she was talking about? Had passed out in the hallway earlier, likely in pain because of her spell and he...

That's right. He had hit his head. The knock on the head probably gave him a small case of retrospective amnesia. At least enough to where he wouldn't remember what had happened. She eased up a bit, but remained wary should he be lying.

"I'm sorry..." she said, gazing at the ground, "I cast a blessing spell...It blesses everything, but it also hurts shadows, dark magic, and demons. Some people found you in the hall passed out with your head bleeding....I healed you the best I could, but you still ended up with a concussion...I'm sorry...I didn't mean to hurt any one. I didn't know it was a spell until I cast it."

Jason squinted a little and looked around, trying to remember. His hand moved up to where he had a bump the small bump on his head.

"Are you sure?" He asked, a confused smile showing on his face as he looked at her again. She seemed too serious to be pulling his leg. He pulled his hand from his hair.

"Well...I'm okay...And I probably got the worst of it, right? So, I mean, everyone should be okay now.." Jason felt bad that she felt bad. He wanted to cheer her up, but wasn't sure how well that was going "Accidents happen!"

Rinsi had been afraid that Jason would hate her, too, and was surprised when he didn't. At first she had cringed, expecting him to yell at her, but when he didn't, she relaxed. She even managed a little smile.

"Yeah, I guess, but the accident was my fault to begin with. I should have kept that spell under control. I'm glad you're okay now, though. Is everyone else okay? How are Nakya, Ki'iro and Re?"

Jason's smile dulled just a little.

"Oh...I don't know...I went to my room after the nurse, and I didn't see anyone on my way out here.....I'm sure they're fine now" He assured her. He waved his hand, motioning for her to come.

"It's late, come on back inside?" Jason suggested. Of course, he also wanted to go in because the cold was starting to get to him. He would feel wrong if he left Rinsi outside, though.

Rinsi sighed to herself. She was pretty tired now, and she could honestly bet her bottom dollar it was from the spell, combined with lack of sleep

"Yeah, I guess...." she said quietly, "But I don't want anyone to see me...You go on ahead, I'll be right behind. I promise."

"I don't think anyone could stay too mad at you for one mistake, Rinsi.." Jason said with a sympathy-filled smile. Without another word, he turned and headed back inside. Of course, he looked back before he entered.

Jason walked the halls just within the entrance. He wanted to make sure Rinsi wasn't just bluffing to get him to go away. He smirked and rolled his eyes at the idea. He rubbed his arms roughly, trying create enough friction to warm himself up some.

After waiting until Jason was a good distance ahead of her, Rinsi carefully made it back towards the school buildings. She watched to make sure Jason was ahead of her, as well as keeping an eye out for other people. When the coast was clear, she carefully walked down the hallway, following Jason, while keeping all her senses on high alert. Granted, she was glad that Nakya and Jason didn't hate her, but what about the rest? Ki'iro certainly did, and she wouldn't blame Re if she did either. She wasn't sure how her spell had affected Logan or Kelly, and she could only hope they were okay. She could only hope that everyone would soon forgive her, and maybe they weren't as mad at her now that she seemed to have fixed everything. Or at least, she hoped she fixed everything.

Jason smiled a little when Rinsi came. He noticed she still seemed on edge.

"Would you calm down?" He whispered, but still sounded upbeat about it. "Which dorm's yours? I'll walk you there..." He offered. Jason was going to his dorm anyway, he'd probably have to pass hers to get there.

Rinsi flinched at first, thinking someone had caught her, before noticing it was just Jason. She smiled a bit, though more forced than anything, and forced her body to relax.

"S-sorry..." she stammered, "It's number three. Thank you, for being so kind."

Jason frowned a little when it seemed he'd startled Rinsi.

"It's no problem.." Jason told her.

He was pretty quiet on the way to the hall where the dorms were. He didn't like being so quiet really. It was an odd thing for a snake to want to be heard, but he was human-like, too. He remained silent though, not wanting to startle Rinsi too much more.

As Rinsi followed Jason down the hall, she seemed to relax a bit. She wasn't sure if it was because his nature seemed to be just as friendly and outgoing as hers, or if it was because he was being so kind to her, even after he'd been hurt because of her, but whatever it was, it relaxed her a bit. It even started to bring back the smile she had before she had cast that horrid spell.

As they approached her dorm room, she turned the knob, noticing it was not locked. She wasn't sure if it was because Nakya had returned, or if it was just because she had forgotten to lock the door, and it worried her a little. She peered in carefully, relieved that Nakya wasn't there, and turned to Jason, smiling a bit.

"Thank you for showing me to my room, and thank you for being so nice to me."

When Rinsi thanked him, Jason smiled and gently put his hand on her upper arm. The touch of a cold-blooded persons hand probably wasn't the nicest of feelings, but he meant for it to be a friendly gesture.

"No problem." Jason said in a reassuring tone. It seemed he hesitated a second, then smiled a little more, "Sleep tight, Rinsi"

He patted his hand very lightly against her arm, then pulled away and was headed down the hall. Before he was too far away, he looked back to see her go in her room, then he was headed the rest of the way to his own.

The cold touch wasn't really creepy to her. She liked the cold, really. Since she exercised so much, she often got over heated and she hated that. So the cold was nothing new to her, and was really very relieving. She smiled a bit at Jason and nodded before closing the door behind her. After grabbing her green silk pajamas, Rinsi quickly got changed and slipped between the covers of her bed. At first her mind seemed too restless to let her sleep, but after a while exhaustion took over as the comforting blanket of unconsciousness took over, finally allowing her to relax.

A man with red hair and sunglasses, a raven black wolf along side him, had been watching her. He had watched her cast that blessing spell, and had watched her go into hiding. Yeah, what the other boy said was cruel, but it wasn't like her to hide. He didn't know that teacher very well, but knew her well enough to know that she wasn't one to run away. Seeing her sneak out and cast a healing spell made him smile to himself.

"She never was one to run away." The black wolf said.

"You know, I was just thinking the same thing...." The redhead said.

* * *

**Author's Note:** That's three spells down....*counts on fingers* I forgot how many are left. We'll find out. :D Didn't find much room in here for the originals, but that'll come later. Dun hate me!

Also, there's a brief cameo here! One of the people from the 'year two' thread requested it. I would have put it in earlier, but I couldn't figure out where to put it. sorry it isn't longer, but this guy doesn't show up until close to the end of year two, so trying to sneak him in was difficult enough. You'll see more of him later. WARNING! HE'S PSYCHO! Okay not really....Not completely....So he's weapon-crazed and thinks nothing of firing real, live rounds at some of the students to scare them into being on time for his class? So what? xD Oh crap...I just gave out a spoi--no I didn't! HA! I'm not including summer camp or year three! MWAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh crap...there's the spoiler....Oh well!

Anyway, enough ranting. I still need beta testers!


	14. Cecil!

After a good night of sleep, Rinsi woke up feeling refreshed, and feeling a lot better. She still didn't want to be seen by anyone just yet, but her mood was a lot better. It was a lot more like the Rinsi that had come to the school, and less like the Rinsi that had hurt people with her blessing spell.

After a quick shower, she changed into something comfortable - a pair of tan shorts and a snug black shirt that accentuated her feminine features. She wasn't planning on leaving her room until tonight anyway, so she might as well get comfortable.

Rinsi grabbed her violin and the bow and began to play her favorite lullaby. It was soft and slow, but not at all sad sounding. Instead, it was happy and uplifting. Without even knowing it, her body began to glow as she played, and a feeling of friendship and protection flowed through her every fiber. Something told her this was a spell, and not at all a harmful one, no matter what the race, species, or element of the person's body. Still, she was a bit afraid of hurting people. She would have to sneak outside and get clear away from everyone, or wait until dark to do so.

It was late in the afternoon, and Rinsi was overcome with hunger. She hadn't eaten in - what - 36 hours? She knew she couldn't keep up this pattern. She was too energetic and as it was she was really fidgety. Finally deciding that she needed food badly, she decided to brave the halls of the school, and gosh darn the people that would glare at her in hatred. Right now, she was too hungry and fidgety to care. She had to get out and run. She had to do something productive with her time. Most of all, she had to get some food in her before she passed out from hunger.

She had left her staff in her room on purpose, so that she would not be identified as easily. Or, if she was identified, at least they wouldn't accuse her of abusing her power, or whatever. This also meant she couldn't cast any spells, and this was fine by her. Beyond the safety of her room and the darkness that shielded her at night, she was not inclined to cast any more spells and make more people hate her. So instead, she left her staff on her bed, which sat next to her night stand that still had her note pad on it, open to her notes that she had absent-mindedly left there for anyone who saw it to read. Instead, she opted for walking on her own, though still a bit cautiously down the halls towards the cafeteria.

As Rinsi walked down the hallway, she knew she was approaching Ki'iro's dorm. She was still afraid that he hated her, and with good reason. However, she also hoped he would forgive her, now that she had fixed everything. Still, she tiptoed by his room, hoping he wouldn't see or hear her, or at least that if he did, he wouldn't say such mean things again. Tried as she might to be quiet, her stomach betrayed her with a loud growl. She froze in her tracks for a moment, wondering if anyone was around to hear that.

After practically inhaling a bowl of noodles and a nice, thick sandwich - very much grateful that Ki'iro hadn't seen her and yelled at her more - Rinsi carefully made her way off of school grounds and out into a nearby forest without being seen. Or at least, she thought she was unseen. She had strapped on her hiking boots and grabbed her violin, simply itching to find out what her one and only violin spell would do. That, and she was still extremely fidgety from sitting around in her room and doing nothing. So, she decided she would get far away from the school, and perform her only violin spell to see what it was and what it could do, without the possibility of accidentally getting someone else involved.

As she trounced around in the leaves, sticks, mud and various plant forms that somehow left her feeling a bit peaceful, she came to a glistening lake in the middle of the woods. It glistened bright silver in the light of the sun, and the water rippled as a slight breeze passed, brushing a little of her hair that hadn't been tied back into her face. She smiled a bit and pushed the unruly lock out of her face and behind her ear. Mooney was by the water, watching it intently.

"Mooney, if you catch yourself a fish I will personally cook it for you." Rinsi said, doubting that her tame cat could catch a fish on its own.

Rinsi pulled out her violin and began to play her favorite lullaby, the one that had caused her to glow before. Once again that feeling of friendship and protection washed over her more and more with each note that she played. As she neared the end of the song, those same ethereal wings seemed to bloom from her back like a spring flower caught on high speed camera. Two words echoed in her mind. They were not pleading, or begging. They were not the words of a lover. Instead, these two words sounded excited, almost hyper. It was surprising to her, and at the same time contagious. As she played the final note, she couldn't help but utter these words in the same excited, almost hyper tone.

"Celestial Winds!"

As soon as she said these words, a little pale blue creature appeared out of no where. It did a few front flips upwards from where it appeared, and just floated there. It opened it's curled up form to reveal a small animal looking thing, with feathery ears and a feathery tail. It almost resembled Carbuncle from one of the Final Fantasy video games. It was absolutely adorable! Rinsi could barely restrain herself from running up to it and wrapping it in a big hug and cooing over it.

However restrained she was, though, it didn't matter. The little creature squealed in glee and made a bee line for her chest, nuzzling its furry little head between her breasts.

"Mistress Naomi!" it squealed in an almost childlike voice, "Why did it take you so long to summon Cecil? Cecil missed Mistress Naomi!"

"First of all," Rinsi said, embarrassed as hell and just as tweaked as she carefully pulled the creature away from her chest, her face as red as a tomato, "I don't appreciate being molested like that. Second, my name is not Naomi."

"Oh?" said the creature, it's face full of curiosity, "if you're not Mistress Naomi, then who are you?"

"I'm Rinsi." she replied curtly.

"But," the creature said as it floated around her, sniffing her in various places, some of which she was not comfortable with it sniffing, "You smell just like Mistress Naomi."

"Naomi was my mother's name."

"WHAT?! Why didn't Mistress call on Cecil earlier?"

"Naomi...she and Charles...my mom and dad....they died when I was young." Rinsi said, now looking sad at the thought.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" the creature cried as it floated circles around Rinsi, eventually landing on her shoulder and crying on it, "Mommy and daddy are dead?! It can't be! Cecil is sad now!"

"Why are you here, Cecil?"

"Mistress Rinsi summoned Cecil with Celestial Winds. Cecil has served the Starlight family for centuries."

"But you're just a baby."

"Cecil's race lasts very very long. Not like Naomi's race or Charles' race."

"So if my parents are dead, does that make you my summons now?"

"Not yet. Cecil can only be Mistress Rinsi's summons on one condition."

"What is that?"

"Mistress Rinsi must have a partner!" Cecil said cheerfully.

Rinsi blushed at the thought of this. The last boyfriend she had ran away in fear when she started glowing while dancing, and she wasn't sure if anyone here could accept her now that she had hurt so many. She cast her eyes on the ground and sighed softly.

"I'm....alone...." she said quietly, "I...cannot be accepted anywhere. Not even in a school filled with gifted people like me. Why must I have a partner for you to be my summons?"

When Rinsi looked back up, Cecil's eyes looked like they were full of tears that were threatening to break through the flood gates. Its cute little paws were covering it's cute little mouth, which she could tell was quivering.

"Cecil needs a mommy AND a daddy. Cecil cannot have just a mommy or just a daddy. Cecil needs both."

"But why?"

"Cecil needs to connect to Mistress Rinsi's mind and soul, but Cecil cannot do this when Rinsi is all alone. Rinsi will open up on her own when she has a partner."

"What kind of summons are you, anyway?"

"Cecil is a healer!"

"Yeah, so am I. What good does that make you?" Rinsi said, immediately regretting her words. "I'm sorry..."

"It's okay! Cecil is used to it. Each new master Cecil gets says the same thing. Rinsi can heal physical wounds, right? And with a spell she can restore energy. But Cecil can do more than that. Cecil heals body, heart, mind, and soul. Whereas Rinsi heals the body only, even with spells, Cecil heals everything. Cecil was chosen to be the Starlight family summons because of this, because the Starlights have a special power that can make everyone happy. But that power can also kill their soul, meaning no afterlife or anything. Cecil is here to keep that from happening, when Rinsi's world is finally ready to accept peace, so that when a Starlight performs the spell successfully, Cecil can keep them from dying completely."

"Wait...successfully complete the spell? You mean, it's never been successful, even when it's small?"

"That's right!" Cecil said cheerfully.

"So it wasn't just me."

"Hey, how does Rinsi not know Cecil? Someone should have told Rinsi."

"I was raised by my mother's sister and brother-in-law, my aunt and uncle. They didn't want me knowing about my powers, so they never told me. I only found out recently that the dances they taught me were spells."

After a long discussion with 'Cecil', Rinsi decided it was time to head back. For once she had a spell that wasn't huge, and she was glad for that, even if it was a little annoying. Still, she had to admit the little guy (or girl, whichever it happened to be) was absolutely adorable. She decided to head back to the cafeteria, not for her own appetite, but to feed Mooney and see if she could find Cecil something to eat. She was so wrapped in thought about her new summons, or rather, not summons, that she hadn't noticed Ki'iro sitting nearby. Instead, she looked around the cafeteria, wondering what a creature like Cecil could eat.

"Cecil, can you eat human food?" she asked as she grabbed a plate of fish for Mooney, as well as a saucer and a carton of milk.

"Yep yep! Cecil loves the food humans call 'hot dogs'. Cecil doesn't know why they are called that though. They look nothing like dogs!"

Rinsi couldn't help but laugh at Cecil's child like curiosity and logic. She even wondered the same thing.

"All right, hot dogs it is. Cecil, you are just too cute."

"Yay! Mistress Rinsi has praised Cecil! Cecil is happy!"

"By the way," Rinsi said as she pulled out another plate with some hot dogs on it, "what gender are you? Are you a boy or a girl?"

"Cecil is Cecil." came the enthusiastic reply.

Rinsi sighed to herself and sat at a nearby table. Mooney jumped up onto the seat next to hers, where she promptly set down the plate of fish. At the same time, Cecil landed on the plate of hot dogs and began to gobble them down like they were going out of fashion.

Ki'iro – who had been sitting nearby - couldn't help but smile to himself when the little floating creature yelled out of joy. He just continued slurping his noodles, and gestured for Rinsi to come and sit by him. Not looking very appealing, he felt a bit self-conscious since he had just gotten himself out of bed.

"How are you?" He called to her. "Who's your friend?" He asked.

Ki'iro didn't feel a need to stay mad at Rinsi. She didn't know what kind of an affect her spell would have on everybody. It wasn't her fault.

His bowl was half empty, or I suppose one could say it was half full. Ki'iro could just eat and not stop. But, being a vegan, Ki'iro felt quite limited to what types of food he could eat. "I wish they had vegan pizza here," he said to himself softly. "It's just not right, killing those poor things..." Even though Ki'iro was rather cold at times, he always had an extremely sensitive side towards animals.

Hearing someone call out her name, Rinsi saw Ki'iro waving her over. She approached him carefully, not sure if he was still mad or not, but at the same time tried to be her usual self.

"Oh?" she said curiously as she sat with him at his table, "I didn't know you had a soft spot for animals. You'd like Mooney then. He's really friendly. Oh, this is Cecil. Apparently he's the family summons, and served my mother and father. Cecil, this is Ki'iro."

"Ohhh," said Cecil as he began circling Ki'iro and sniffing him at the same time, "Ki'iro controls shadows! Neato! Is Ki'iro Cecil's daddy?"

Rinsi turned bright red, and covered her face with her hand, trying not to show it. This little guy knew nothing of tact or shame, did he? Not only that, but Rinsi honestly doubted Ki'iro would even want her for a friend after what she had done, and after what he had said to her about it.

Slurping another big forkful of noodles, Ki'iro smiled with his mouth closed, since it was full of noodles. Chewing and swallowing, he looked up at the little floating thing. Apparently it was named Cecil.

"Well hi there Cecil," he said softly. "Star," he said, turning his attention back to her, "I'm not mad at you for what happened, you know. I just decided that it's pointless to get so worked up over something. And well, I prefer to think of you how I did that night we met at the dance. You _were_ something. Some good dancer," he said quietly.

"Daddy? No, no, I don't think so little Cecil," he said to the little thing. "We're just friends," he said, gesturing towards Rinsi. "Star, that's really a cool thing that he's your family summon. We don't exactly have something like that. We had a dog once..." he laughed softly.

Rinsi couldn't help but blush more and rub the back of her head sheepishly. She was glad he wasn't mad at her any more about the incident, and felt really relieved. Especially when he complimented her like that.

"Thank you." she said happily, smiling like her normal self once more. "I didn't even know we had a family summons until just now. He's a little troublesome, but so cute! What was the dog's name? What breed?"

Ki'iro laughed softly at her questions.

"I have no idea," he said softly, chuckling nervously. He slurped up another mouthful of noodles and smiled at her again.

"It really is cute, you know," he said with his mouth full. "How are you little Cecil?" He asked sweetly.

Rinsi couldn't help but giggle a bit. She wasn't sure why, though, aside from Ki'iro talking with his mouth full and stating the obvious.

"Yeah, he sure is cute." Rinsi said.

"YAY! Cecil is happy! Ki'iro and Rinsi think Cecil is cute! What is cute?"

Rinsi burst out in laughter at this. She knew it was rude, but she couldn't help it. He was such a curious little fellow, in spite of serving her family for centuries. She had thought Cecil had known the answer to this question already.

"Cute means adorable, worthy of affection, attractive in a dainty way, or precious."

"YAY! Cecil is precious!"

"You are one cheerful little bugger, aren't you?"

"YUP!"

Ki'iro couldn't help but laugh at Cecil and her curiosity. Finishing up his food, Ki'iro excused himself from the table and walked over to the dishwasher. He put his dishes away neatly, and then headed back over to Rinsi. Standing up, he bowed softly to Cecil and Rinsi.

"Goodbye m'lady," he said with a cocky smirk on his face. With that, he bid her adieu and walked out of the cafeteria.

Rinsi was curious as to what was going on and decided to follow Ki'iro. After watching the scene unfold before her, and a little guess work on her part, she figured Ichio was back, but had a serious case of retrograde amnesia. She had left silently on her own, completely unnoticed, and had gone back to her dorm to think...and do a little research.

Among the books she had brought with her, most of them were medical journals of some sort. Right now she was flipping through one of them, reading it intently as she sat on her bed with one leg resting atop the other.

"Mistress Rinsi," Cecil said curiously, "what are you doing?"

"I'm researching something."

"Like what?"

"Well a friend of mine has a bad case of retrograde amnesia, and I'm trying to see what I can do to help. Can you help at all?"

"Cecil doesn't think so. Cecil read over your shoulder and that book says that the memories are there, but inaccessible for a while. It's not an injury or real illness, so Cecil can't fix it. Cecil is sorry."

"It's okay, Cecil." Rinsi said, smiling at the adorable little thing, "cheer up."

"Okay!"

Rinsi had had enough studying for a while, which was extremely odd for her. Right now, she was concerned about Ichio and Nakya. She knew they were close, and for Ichio not to remember anything must be killing Nakya on the inside. So, instead she opted for looking for her friends. She decided that checking Ichio's dorm would be closer, and a good place to start. As she approached the dorm room door, she could hear voices. She listened for a moment, and when she was satisfied that it was Ichio and Nakya talking, even though she couldn't hear the words themselves clearly enough, she knocked on the door.

"Ah, Ichio! You're finally awake." she said through the door. "How are you?"

Ichio blinked at the girl, a frown on his face.

"I take it you know me? Can I help you?" He asked, leaning heavily on the door.

Yumi's voice rang in his head once more, as he forced himself to relax.

_You can't be serious. That's Rinsi!_ Her thoughts drifted out again as he thought out the rest of his plan, then came back louder. _You will not do that to her. I will not let you touch one hair on her head! Not until you come to your senses. This is not the past. This is different. You have to remember what you felt for her!_

Rinsi stared at Ichio for a moment, trying to play dumb. She knew he had a serious case of retrograde amnesia, and thus would not remember her, but she didn't want them to know that just yet.

"You...don't remember me? I'm Rinsi Starlight, Nakya's room mate. Is something wrong, Ichio?" she said, trying to look concerned.

"Oh, hello Nakya!" she said as she smiled and waved cheerfully at her room mate.

Listening to Rinsi and Ichio talk, Nakya felt despair well up inside her. Waving to Rinsi silently, she laid down on Ichio's bed and closed her eyes.

_This has to be a bad dream. Please let it be a bad dream…_ she thought as tears rolled down her face.

Connecting her thoughts to Rinsi's, she said _'Rin.. He doesn't remember me.. He promised me he'd come back.. But.. he doesn't know me, or anything. I feel sick..._' The last of her words broke off as the pain overwhelmed her.

"Umm.. Okay." Ichio said, his mask returning to one of blank disinterest. "Well, I don't know if you can consider it as something wrong, but I suppose that's the best explanation."

Ichio listened to Yumi rant, rubbing Rinsi's arrival in his face. _You can't do anything now. You just have to lie down and face the facts. Your plan failed._ He smiled lightly, thinking at her, _That's what you think._

"Care to talk about it?" Rinsi said, playing dumb. "Oh, Cecil, maybe you'd like to talk to Nakya. I think she could use a little cheering up."

"Okay!" said the furry little creature that had been floating around her.

"Let's talk in the hallway, shall we?" Rinsi said.

Ichi smelled something funny brewing, but figured it couldn't be anything worse than his own plan. If things got messy, he'd just knock this Rinsi chick out, and take what he wanted.

"I don't think that's a bad idea." he said, smiling. "After you."

He motioned outside, following her out and shutting the door again behind them.

"I'm not sure what there is to talk about, really." He said, inspecting the edge of a tattered sleeve.

"Well, I was just wondering something. Do you know who you are? Or who that girl in your room is? Or what you mean to her?" Rinsi said, trying to be as cautious as possible. "If you don't remember me, then do you remember anything else?"

"Who I am? Well, I know that my name is Ichio. I know that the girl in my room is named Nakya. I also know that I must not mean much to her if when I finally resurfaced, or whatever happened, she went off for a bit with some guy who seems to be _very_ close to her."

Ichio leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms.

"I remember waking up in darkness, and being cold. Before that, I remember pain, horrible pain. I remember bits and pieces of my past, a semester of elementary, a year or so on the streets. Not a whole lot more. Why do you want to know?" Ichio's face was again blank, he didn't like where this was going.

"I just want to know how much you remember." Rinsi said cheerfully. "You mean alot more to Nakya than you think. The other guy she went to is just...a friend really. Hm, whatever happened to you somehow caused you to get a serious case of retrograde amnesia. I want to help you, but I'm not sure how. I think your memories will return on their own eventually, so you'll need to be patient, both with yourself and everyone else, just as everyone else will need to be patient with you. Do you remember Yumi at least?"

Nakya heard Rinsi and Ichio leave. Opening her eyes, she saw a strange creature in the room. Still crying softly, she buried her face in the pillow. [b]"I messed everything up, I know I did.." [/b] Nakya grew angry and began grabbing whatever she could and throwing it against the wall. Lamps, cups, pillows, suitcases, everything.

"OOOooooooooh," said Cecil as he floated around Nakya, both examining her closely and sniffing her, "you shouldn't throw things. You're interesting though! What's your name?"

"Nakya." she said, continuing to throw things, angry tears rolling down her cheeks.

Suddenly, she froze. Reaching into her dress pocket, she found Ichio's note to her.

"Rinsi! Rinsi! Would this help?"she called out from the room, almost frantic. She needed to get Ichio back, she just had to.

"Nakya shouldn't do that." Cecil said cheerfully, "Nakya is making trouble. If Nakya doesn't stop, Cecil will have to stop her, so please stop throwing things, Nakya. Oh, is that a letter?! Can Cecil see?! Cecil wants to seeeeeeeeee!!!!"

Ichio listened as Rinsi explained.

"Amnesia, huh?" He said quietly, a smile playing on his lips. "Yumi…that woman playing with my head, you mean? No, she doesn't seem familiar. And neither does her fashion sense." he added. Hearing Nakya's voice coming from the room he'd left, Ichio turned and opened the door. "What is this?"

"Yumi isn't just a woman in your head." Rinsi explained, following Ichio into his room to find Nakya throwing things.

"Nakya! That's enough!" she scolded her room mate.

"Ooooooh! Nakya's in trouble now!" Cecil cooed, "Mistress Rinsi is going to scold you!"

Rinsi sighed to herself and dropped her shoulders. Nakya had really made a mess, and it was only complicating things.

"Sorry about that, Ichio. It seems she's rather upset now. I'll talk to her later about it."

Blushing at the mess she had made, Nakya apologized.

"I'm sorry, I'll clean it up I promise. But look Rinsi!"

She shoved the note Ichio had written her when she had mentioned leaving the school - the one asking her not to go.

"Would that help him remember?" she asked, glancing at Ichio. Looking up, she saw Ki'iro at the door. "Hi Ki'iro." she said softly, remembering how rash she had acted earlier.

Ki'iro quickly walked over to Nakya and wrapped his arm around her lower waist. Glaring at Ichio for a moment, he then turned his attention to Rinsi.

"Hello, Rinsi, what's going on here?" He asked. He figured it would be better to ask her instead of Nakya. She already seemed stressed.

Rinsi stepped up to Nakya and took a look at the note. She didn't know what Ichio's handwriting looked like so she wasn't sure of the authenticity of it, but she smiled anyway.

"Well, it might. It's worth a try, don't you think?" she said cheerfully.

Hearing Ki'iro's voice behind her, she turned and smiled at the young man, which was her usual greeting for anyone.

"Oh, hi Ki'iro!" she said cheerfully, "Uh, Nakya's just a bit stressed out from Ichio apparently losing his memories. But it looks like she has something that might help him."

"Oh," he paused, "Well, let's hope it helps him get his memories back," he said.

Ki'iro forced a smile across his face as he let go of Nakya and stepped away from her.

"I think it's worth a try, definitely," he sighed heavily and looked down at the ground. Letting his hair fall in front of his face, he spoke again.

"You always seem to be stressed out over Ichio," he said to Nakya. His voice was monotone, his face unfazed.

Rinsi had noticed the sudden change in Ki'iro's behavior and couldn't help but wonder if he wasn't still hung up on her, in spite of the words he had whispered to her the night she had hurt everyone. She looked at him curiously for a moment, then smiled her usual smile and assisted Nakya to her feet.

"With something like this, patience is required on both sides." she said calmly, still smiling, and yet purposely being a little mysterious as to the true meaning in her words.

"Lost memories! Lost memories! I wonder where they went?" Cecil chanted as s/he bounced and floated around everyone in the room.

"Ki'iro needs a hug! Cecil to the rescue!"

Cecil then flew up to Ki'iro and practically flew into his chest with a fierce, but warm hug. Or as warm as his/her little body could manage.

Seeing the sudden change in Ki'iro, Nakya remained silent.

"I just.." Frowning, she looked down. "Give him the note Rinsi."

Ki'iro just stared at Nakya through his hair.

"Patience..." his voice trailed off.

_I've been patient for so long. I've waited for her for so long, and she showed me that she-...And now she just...doesn't care,_ he thought.

"Hello Cecil," he said simply as he lifted his head and brushed the hair from his face. He hugged the little creature back softly.

"Well, I would," Rinsi said, giving a smile and a sly wink, "but you're closer."

Physically speaking, she supposed she was closer, but Rinsi wasn't talking about physically. Nakya was closer to him in person than anyone else, besides Yumi, of course. It would be best if she gave Ichio the note herself. Ki'iro would have to handle his own, especially since he was supposed to be getting over her.

Which brought to her mind her predicament with Cecil. How was she going to find a partner in a place where she didn't know anyone that well, in spite of all the friends she made? Especially since a place like this had more demons and dark magic users than anything else, and she had hurt them all. She pushed the thought aside for the moment, choosing to focus on what was at hand.

"Ki'iro hugged Cecil! Cecil is happy now! Ki'iro should be happy too!" Cecil said excitedly as s/he remained in Ki'iro's arms like a little teddy bear.

Ki'iro's hands clenched and formed fists. He didn't say anything at all; he just looked back down at the ground. He was losing her. After she had kissed him, he just figured they would be together. But apparently, he was wrong. His chest ached, his heart broken, again. Coming to this school was starting to seem like a bad idea.

"Rinsi, he doesn't know me at all anymore.." she softly said, frowning at Rinsi's words.

Throwing her note on the bed, she glanced up at Ichio, signifying he should take it. Looking at Ki'iro, she noticed how upset he seemed to be. Connecting her thoughts to his, she asked _'Are you okay?'_

Ki'iro quickly shut his mind off from connection; he pushed a shadow wall around his thoughts.

"I should probably be going soon, I wanted to go train tonight," he said flatly, there was no hint of emotion in his voice. Ki'iro was done with being hurt. He didn't want to let anybody else in.

"I hope Ichio gets better..." he whispered, his voice trailing off towards the end of his sentence. It was barely audible to anybody in the room. He turned to walk from the room.

Rinsi just rolled her eyes and sighed. Nakya had completely missed the point. Whether or not Ichio remembered anything wasn't the subject. The subject was that she was the one closest to him, even if he didn't remember, and since it concerned them as a couple, it should have been her handing the letter to him personally. She'd be sure to discuss this later with her room mate as well.

Cecil felt Ki'iro's body tense up around him, and knew what that meant. There was no playing dumb about that.

"Why is Ki'iro sad?" Cecil asked innocently, "Did Cecil do something bad?"

* * *

Author's Note: Yet another long chapter. And it's not done! That's right, I'm splitting this one in two. The next chapter will be a continuation of this. .


	15. Ki'iroorKai?

Looking at Ki'iro and listening to his tone, Nakya felt nauseous.

"Help me..please.." She looked to Rinsi, and whispered.

Nakya had never felt so helpless. She loved Ichio.. Not this one, the old one. And when he left, he had broken her heart. She had turned to Ki'iro and she had started falling for him. She had been over Ichio, or so she thought, when he returned. Seeing Ichio again, had awakened the feelings she had for him. She was so lost, so confused. She hadn't meant to hurt anyone. Seeing Ki'iro walking to leave the room, silent tears rolled down her cheeks.

Ki'iro turned before he walked out of the room and looked Nakya in the eyes. A flicker of sadness burdened his eyes, but they were filled with disappointment and fear.

"Why?" He asked softly, his face didn't change. The male's hands were shoved into his pockets, still balled up in fists.

"I can't believe you would do this to me," he said, still not taking his eyes away from hers. Ki'iro stood in the doorway, torn between separation and belongingness.

Looking at Ki'iro, she whispered softly, her voice breaking.

"Just let me explain, please.." Her eyes were filled with fear and guilt. She hadn't meant for any of this to happen.

"What do you want to explain?" he barked at her.

His temper flared, pulling his hands from his pockets, shadows were present around them.

"Do you want to tell me why you lead me on? Why you kissed me?" He smirked and laughed softly, "Humor me."

Rinsi remained quiet. She didn't like doing this to her friend, but this was a conversation that had to happen. She herself had seen how she had been all over Ki'iro shortly after Ichio returned, and didn't approve. However, she had remained quiet about it. She felt bad for both sides, really, but right now there was nothing she could do about it.

"No, Cecil." she said, answering her little friend, "You didn't do anything bad. This is just...a delicate situation.

Cecil flew back over to Rinsi, and she felt a little extra weight on her head as Cecil landed on the flat of it, balancing as if she were a chair, much to the disapproval of Mooney, who was always nearby.

Blinking at him in shock, Nakya began to tremble. Ki'iro's temper had always frightened her. She opened her mouth to begin speaking, but quickly closed it. She had seen him like this once before, and it hadn't ended well. How could she explain to him that she cared for them both. Someone was going to get hurt because of her, and she couldn't bring herself to speak, her fear evident on her face.

Ki'iro just laughed at her and shook his head.

"I knew you wouldn't be able to tell me."

He turned his back to her. Glancing back quickly, he looked her in the eye and laughed again.

"I don't want to see you again, Nakya," he said flatly as he walked out of the room. He headed down the hallway, his hands still aglow with the bright shadows around them.

Nakya stood as he began to speak.

"Ki'iro, I can tell you I just need a mome--"

As he turned to leave, and stopped to speak to her, she felt her heart drop.

"I deserve that.." she whispered as he left the room.

Her face grew pale, and she felt weak. Sitting on the floor, she shut her mind off from everyone and everything. She covered her face with her hands, feeling horrible about what she had done, and the person she was.

Hearing her say that she deserved it, he replied, [b]"You deserve so much more."[/b] He walked down the hallway and headed towards the front of the school. The shadows about his hands flared up around his arms and torso.

"Ki'iro," a voice called from inside of his head. His head began hurting again, he grabbed his hair and fell onto his knees.

"Wh-what?"

"Ki'iro, I know you're slipping. You're losing your grip," the voice beckoned Ki'iro to the comforting darkness that overwhelmed him as the shadows around him grew higher.

A silent tear rolled down her face at Ki'iro's last comment.

"Will you make sure he's going to be okay..? I know I shouldn't care, but..I do.." she softly asked looking up at Rinsi.

Rinsi was one of her closest friends at the school and she wasn't sure if she'd be able to explain how she felt to her even. All she knew is she wanted everyone to be happy, even if she was miserable. Sighing softly, she climbed to her feet and picked the note off the bed.

"Here, read this. You wrote it for me." she said holding it out to Ichio.

Walking out the door, she moved down the hall and went into her room.

Ichio listened quietly to the conversation, recognizing the boy as the one who'd come when he first arrived. Looking at the note Nakya had left on the bed, he picked it up gently, reading the words carefully. It looked like his handwriting. Had he really written it? Closing his eyes, he focused on the words.

_Who had written it? Me? Who was it for? Nakya...?_

The answers came slow, then quicker, as memories seemed to pop out of thin air.

_Why did she want to leave? Because of what I had done. No, because of what Yumi had done._

His eyes flew open just as Nakya sat on the floor. Whirling about, he looked at Nakya, then at the door.

_Nakya. Rinsi. Ki'iro. Yumi._

The names came flying back, as well as a few select memories, though not everything. His eyes flipped back and forth from Nakya to the door, unsure what to do. Nakya needed consoling, but he wanted to set things right with Ki'iro as well. He wasn't healthy for Nakya, his recent plans seemed proof enough of that.

"It'll be okay, I promise. I told you I'd come back. And now I am." Ichio whispered in her ear, falling to one knee next to Nakya.

He smiled lightly, and then continued.

"There's something I need to take care of. I'll be back in five minutes. I promise you." He kissed her gently on the side of her head, then stood and raced out of the door, his powerful legs propelling him faster and faster, as he searched for Ki'iro. Soon there was a figure on the ground in front of him, Ki'iro. There were dark flame-like shadows flailing about him.

"Ki'iro?" he asked, stopping a couple yards away.

Rinsi didn't like the air about Ki'iro. Something didn't seem right at all, and it worried her. She was torn between helping her depressed friend and room mate, and seeing what was wrong with Ki'iro. Both seemed of vital importance, and she hated to choose between them. However, sensing that Nakya would be a bit safer with Cecil than Ki'iro would, she picked Cecil up from on top of her head and looked him/her straight in the eye.

"Cecil, you and Mooney stay here and cheer Nakya up. Make sure she gets back to our dorm room safely."

"Righto!" Cecil said cheerfully before making a bee line for Nakya's chest. "Nakya! Cecil is here to cheer you up! Mooney too!"

Mooney had long since gotten the point and stayed behind with Nakya, curling up in her lap contentedly.

"Meow!" he said contentedly.

Rinsi, meanwhile, decided to follow Ki'iro and see what was going on. With the way the shadows were leaping up around him, almost like black flames, it made him look very angry, almost evil. The air around him seemed to reek with something that definitely wasn't him, and she wasn't sure what it was.

"Ki'iro," she said, treading softly, as if on egg shells, "Do you like music?"

She knew it was silly, but maybe changing the subject would help him cheer up. If she could find a subject that they both liked and knew a lot about, then it might help calm him and bring him back to himself.

Silent tears rolled down Ki'iro's pale face. The flames grew more and more, but simmered a bit when two figures appeared next to him. He looked up, eyes blazing, "What?" he whispered softly.

"Ki'iro. Don't listen to them, think about her. Think about her," the voice repeated over and over again. Flashes of Nakya, and memories with her flicked through his mind. Standing up, he looked at the figures and raised his hands.

"Don't try to cheer me up, don't get any closer," he hissed.

The flames around his hands flashed with an intense energy, they looked ready to jump off his body at any moment. His eyes flashed over to Rinsi, and he smirked and laughed.

"You think you can get my mind off this? Ha!" Ki'iro didn't let his guard down as he spoke.

Rinsi had jumped a bit, a little intimidated by his burst of anger, but she didn't back down.

"Well, it's better than brooding. Brooding doesn't do anything productive. Now, do you like music? If so, what kind?"

Rinsi kept on smiling her normal smile, determined to calm him down and figure out what was going on with him. Something wasn't right, and she wasn't sure what it was, but she was starting to think it was something in his head. She had seen how his eyes changed quickly as he spoke, almost as if he was speaking to someone in his head. Normally people would think him crazy, but in a school like this there were other possibilities besides schizophrenia.

Ki'iro laughed again at her foolish attempt to calm him down. Inside, his heart ached, broken. Shadows danced among it, the darkness comforted him. Twitching his hand that was pointed at her, he smiled softly as a shadow shot at her, too fast for anybody other than Ki'iro to stop it. He stopped the shadow about three inches from her face and laughed.

"Kill her, Ki'iro. Kill her, she doesn't know what's going on. Think about her, think about her," the voice spoke again.

Ki'iro's hand flinched again, the shadow in front of Rinsi's face twitched. His hand shook violently, the voice spoke again.

"Do it! Kill her!" it yelled.

Rinsi was surprised at what had happened, but she didn't move an inch. She just kept smiling at him. She could tell he was having an internal battle. She could read it in his eyes like they were books. Something definitely wasn't right, and she needed to diffuse the situation quickly. Since he hadn't answered her question, she chose to assume he did in fact like music. Evidence of that was from the dance not too long ago. So, to help calm him, she chose a lullaby her mother always sang to her, to calm her when she was upset. It was soft and sweet, and something about it always seemed to calm her, no matter how heart broken or upset she was.

Ichio watched frozen as the conversation between Rinsi and Ki'iro progressed. Then Ki'iro struck. When the shadow flew faster than his eyes could see, Ichio vaulted forward, reaching a hand out toward Rinsi. She didn't even flinch.

"Ki'iro! Stop this! What are you doing to yourself?" He yelled, tensing his muscles for a fight. He didn't know how long he'd last, but if he was lucky he'd get in a shot to Ki'iro's head, knocking him out.

"You can do better than this! You can do it for her! I know it!" He continued as Yumi cheered him on.

"If you won't do it, Ki'iro, I will." the voice said as it pushed its way into Ki'iro's conscious mind.

He fell to his knees, shadows rose up above him yet still hugged to his body. His entire persona was covered in darkness.

"You're never going to be as strong as I am, Ki'iro," the voice whispered as it took over, consuming him. Ki'iro's broken heart wasn't strong enough to withstand an internal attack on his mind.

A moment later, the flames died down and Ki'iro stayed on his knees. His eyes had become a slight darker shade of red, but it was nearly unnoticeable. Everything about his physical appearance was exactly the same. Looking up at the two people who stood before him, he smiled uneasily.

"Hello," he said simply.

Rinsi placed a hand on Ichio's tensed shoulder. She could understand his actions, and was actually a bit flattered he had acted in her defense, but how he was reacting wouldn't calm the situation any. She gave him a look as if to say, "Thank you, but I think you'd better relax and let me handle this." And from there she continued to sing her mother's lullaby to her.

Kai stood up from the ground, a little wobbly on his feet, but he managed. He walked over to Rinsi and smiled softly.

"Hello," he paused for a moment and reached back into Ki'iro's memories for her name, acquiring it, he continued. "Rinsi. I'm-I'm okay now," he said, trying to play off as Ki'iro.

Ichio nearly jumped out of his skin when the flames died down around Ki'iro. Perhaps now was not a good time to try and talk to Ki'iro. There was something odd about the way he held himself. He was far too calm for what he'd just been going through. His stature was more laid-back, less stiff, like Ki'iro normally was. Leaning over to reply to Rinsi's look, his gaze snapped back to Ki'iro, and he whispered in her ear.

"I'm going to Nakya. Yell, if anything bad happens."

He backed away and around a corner, not turning his head until he was out of sight. He turned and loped back to his room, throwing on a change of clothes before heading to Nakya's. He knocked quietly, and called, "Nakya, it's me, Ichio. Can I come in?"

"Yeah..." Rinsi said cautiously.

The stench in the air around him hadn't changed. In fact, it was worse now. And something in his eyes wasn't right, either, but she couldn't tell what it was. It was like he was someone or something else in Ki'iro's body. She could feel her smile begin to falter a bit, but refused to give in to the growing dread inside her. Instead she renewed her smile, which by now was merely plastered on like a child's noodle project, and did her best to relax the hand that was now clenching Ichio's shoulder.

"Ichio, did you hear? Ki'iro is okay. I think we should see how Nakya is doing."

Kai moved towards the hallway of the school and headed straight for his dorm room. Even Kai was exhausted physically. Sighing, he plopped down onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

Rinsi sighed to herself and shivered once she was sure Ki'iro was gone. She had watched him saunter off to his dorm room, and was glad to get away from that putrid air about him, but at the same time still wondered what was going on. After deciding that he might have just gone to rest, Rinsi went back to Ichio's room to check on Nakya. She took a deep breath before entering the room, and slapped a smile on her face again.

"I'm back!" she said cheerfully, "Feeling any better Nakya?"

"Mistress Rinsi!" Cecil said cheerfully before making a bee line to her chest and planting him/herself between her breasts.

"Mental note, break Cecil of that habit." Rinsi said as she felt her face turning bright red. "He's okay, Nakya." she said reassuringly.

* * *

Author's Note: Finally! The end to the previous chapter! I wanted to not make it so long, but I kind of had to, considering the circumstances. And Cecil is still up to his/her old tricks!

Yes, Cecil is a him/her. Gender unknown....for now. For all you Bebop fans out there, who does Cecil remind you of? xD


	16. Ending Conflictoris it?

Nakya nodded to Rinsi. However, her heart sank when Ichio told her that he wasn't the person she thought he was, and seeing his heart wrenching reaction from her words. She believed him, but she also knew she hurt him badly, but before she could tell him to wait, he was already gone, racing down the hall like a track star.

"Thank you.." She said, looking over at Rinsi helplessly. "The only way I can catch up to him, is if I transform...Could you follow me? Bring my dress?" Nakya asked, her fear and heartbreak showing through in her voice.

Nakya stood up quickly and gave Mooney a kiss on the top of his head. Waiting for Rinsi's answer, she looked around the room. Grabbing a piece of paper, she wrote a note on it and folded it. Dropping it on the floor, she transformed. Once she wriggled her way out of her dress, she picked up the note in her mouth and went running after Ichio, hoping Rinsi would follow. Nakya followed Ichio's scent and found him outside crying. Walking up to him slowly, she dropped her note at his feet and sat down. Her note was simple.

I'm sorry Ichio. I believe you. I'm glad you're back.

I missed you. I love you.

Nakya

Rinsi nodded to Nakya and picked up her dress once she transformed. She was able to keep up with her easily thanks to all the years she spent jogging in the morning to keep her slim figure. When they finally caught up to Ichio, Rinsi could tell he was torn. Though he had always been serious to some point, he was also the cheerful type, so Rinsi had not seen him cry before. Then again, she didn't know him as well. She couldn't help but feel badly for him as she stood next to Nakya, trying to catch her breath.

"You know, the three of us should go jogging some time." she said cheerfully, though out of breath. "It'd be great exercise."

Ichio had all but collapsed in the middle of the meadow, the dense fog clinging wetly to his skin and hair. A small fox raced up to him, carrying a piece of paper in its mouth. Gingerly picking up the folded paper, he opened it, recognizing the fox as Nakya through Yumi's eyes. He read the note silently, feeling hysterical sobs build up in his throat.

"Nakya.... How can you say that? After what happened, what I was going to do to you.... I'm not the person you see me as."

He chuckled darkly, ruining its sinister ring with the tears falling down his face. He stood, pulling back a sleeve to show a deep pink scar running down his forearm.

"This is from the last girl. There are more than I can count."

He didn't want her to come rushing up to him without knowing his past. He was dangerous, in more ways than one.

When Rinsi saw the long scar on his arm, her smile melted into a frown, almost a scowl.

"You know, we all have our secrets." she told him, trying to keep back the emotions that were brewing in her head, "And no matter how bad things seem, there's ALWAYS someone out there that cares enough to let you talk to them and try to help you. You just have to let them."

Rinsi was both sad and angry at the same time. Yeah, she could understand why that scar was there. She had even thought about it herself from time to time. But she knew better. She knew there were others that would be horrified and heart broken if she went through with it, just as Nakya had been when Ichio had stabbed himself. She wanted to slap him, hug him, shake him violently, and punch him in the stomach all at the same time, but she restrained herself. If this was what she was feeling now, what was Nakya feeling? Probably the same things, but ten times worse.

"If you're really that dangerous, don't keep it to yourself. Ask for some help instead."

Nakya did nothing but sit there. Her heart felt as if it had fallen out of her. She laid down, wrapping her tail over her nose. Slight whimpering noises escaped from her, as she closed her eyes tightly. She didn't care about who he was in the past, she knew who he was now and that's all that mattered to her.

Kai woke up, dazed and confused. His room was still dark, his head still ached. And to his demise, a voice boomed in his ear.

"Kai! Get out right now!"

He just smiled and rolled his eyes. Running his fingers through his hair, he got up and headed down the hall towards the front of the school. His stomach yelling at him, he stepped into the cafeteria and grabbed a muffin. Smiling, he headed out the front door and into the forest.

Kai smirked, and raised his hands, controlling the shadows around him. They hoisted him up into a treetop, and carried him from tree to tree as he commanded. Eventually, he found the three people huddled together in a meadow. He crouched on a branch and watched the scene unfold.

Standing up, Nakya pulled her dress from Rinsi's hands. Dragging it behind a tree, Nakya transformed. Standing up, she brushed the grass off her bare knees. Slipping her dress back on, she looked around cautiously. She could have sworn she smelled something strange. Walking back out to where Ichio and Rinsi were, she stood near Rinsi, looking around.

_'Rinsi, I thought I could smell something weird when I was still a fox, could you smell it at all?'_

_No_, Rinsi thought back, knowing Nakya would hear anyway, _but I do sense it. It's like Ki'iro last night, before he went to his room. The air is so heavy!_

Rinsi's solemn attitude got even more grim when she sensed this change. She didn't like it at all.

"Kai! They know you're here. Get out while you still can. I don't want them seeing me-us like this!" a voice said within Kai's mind. That always irking voice that never seemed to shut up, never seemed to stop complaining. How he wished that voice would go away!

"Shut up," he hissed back to Ki'iro in his mind.

The wind blew the trees and around him. His scent was lifted up into the air and whirled around. He threw his hands up, creating a small wall of shadows around him, hiding his scent as much as he could.

Giving Rinsi a slight nod, Nakya continued looking around. Disconnecting her thoughts from her roommate's, Nakya searched with her mind, trying to see who all was in the area. There was Ichio, and Rinsi...and there was another person somewhere. It sounded like Ki'iro, but it was different. She connected her thoughts to the unknown hider.

_'Who are you? Why do you sound like Ki'iro? What the hell is going on?'_

She shot Rinsi a look that told her to be on her guard. She had her that voice before, but when? Searching her mind, memories flashed back. Ki'iro on the steps, passing out. Ki'iro asking her to keep someone away. That's where she had heard that voice before. Her gasp caught in her throat. She knew this wasn't good…

"Nakya, it's me. Don't you recognize me?" he asked out loud.

He knew that they could hear him very well. Jumping down from the tree, his feet landed softly on the grass, cushioning his fall. He flicked his hair back, revealing his stunning eyes. Staring at Nakya, he smiled softly.

"Hey," he cooed softly.

"Nakya, I recognize this air." Rinsi whispered to her room mate, "Ki'iro was like this last night. I don't think he's Ki'iro right now. If things get hairy, get the hell out of here. I'll take care of it."

Staring at Ki'iro, she calmly replied.

"You know as well as I do, you're not Ki'iro. If you were, you'd know he never wants to see me again."

With a sweet smile, Nakya flicked her hand open, a shard of ice appearing in it. She focused her thoughts on Rinsi.

_'No, you run if things get bad. He's this way because of me. I'll handle it.'_

_Yeah right_. Rinsi thought back, _Like I'm going to leave my friend to someone who is potentially harmful. Look, I have a plan already for if things get messy. If you're around you'll get hurt._

"Hey, Cec," she whispered to her cheerful new companion, "what kind of barrier is Moon Halo?"

"It's a strong one!" Cecil whispered directly into her ear, "Nothing goes in, nothing comes out!"

"Perfect." she said with a wry grin.

"Damn," Kai cursed in his head. "I'm just over it. You're not worth my time anymore, but," he paused, then spoke again, "I've decided against hating you. Consider it my treat."

Kai smiled brightly and walked closer to Nakya. His hands were held behind his back, and a black flame flicked from the tip of his fingers.

Giving Rinsi a stern look, Nakya turned her attention back to Ki'iro.

"You're not as good at lying as he is either." she said, beginning to circle around him slightly, still facing him.

An idea struck her, if only it would work. She didn't have time to debate it. Searching in the Ki'iro look-a-like's mind for Ki'iro, she found it and softly spoke to him.

_'Ki'iro, I know you hate me and that's fine, but Rinsi's here. Do you want to hurt her too? Please help us try and get this other you under control. Rinsi is going to do a spell and you'll get hurt too. Please, Ki'iro'_ Her thoughts took on a pleading tone, though her face showed no emotion.

Rinsi didn't want to do what she was thinking of, but if it meant the possibility of bringing back Ki'iro and keeping Nakya safe, she would do it. Of course, she's face their wrath later, but that's a bridge she'd cross when she came to it. Right now, she didn't like that dark glow that she almost didn't see behind Ki'iro's back, and she CERTAINLY didn't like the air about him now.

Kai just laughed out loud as Nakya tried to beckon Ki'iro to fight back against Kai.

"You think he's in there? Whatever you say to him, I know." the male openly admitted to being a different person.

"Rinsi, mm?"He looked over at the girl and smirked. "You think you intend on hurting me? Do you think you _can_ hurt me?[/b] Kai laughed again.

"Kai...you need to stop this..." he pleaded. His voice was becoming weaker every minute he was not in control of his body.

Rinsi cursed under her breath. Nakya must have given her away with a telepathic conversation. She probably hadn't thought that, since it was the same body but a different entity controlling it, that both would hear whatever she had said. She gave Nakya a firm shove away from her to get her as far away as possible, as quickly as possible. She then began to spin, and in spinning kept her staff extended outwards. She was glowing intensely during this, which had started faster than ever.

"Ichio!" she said as she spun around, slowly bringing herself up with the spinning staff, "Get Nakya out of here now!"

After a lot of thinking earlier, she had figured out of a process of elimination, as well as a deduction of dancing patterns, that this dance was Moon Halo. And she was correct. As she neared the end of her spinning, the staff itself was glowing brightly, leaving a glowing streak in it's wake, and two words screamed in her head. As she finally straightened, she brought the staff directly above her.

"Moon Halo!" she exclaimed as the lantern burst with light, encasing the area around herself and Ki'iro in a powerful barrier that glowed with light.

Hearing Rinsi yell to Ichio, Nakya ran over and grabbed Ichio's hand. Running as fast as she could, she stopped at what she hoped was a safe distance away, and looked back towards Rinsi and Ki'iro. As she saw a barrier of light shoot up around them, she screamed.

"RINSI!!"

Nakya ran back to the barrier and tried to find a way in, but she couldn't. Trying to connect to her thoughts, she realized the barrier was also stopping that. She dropped to her knees, unable to do anything, and watched helplessly.

Kai quickly raised his hands, shooting shadows out from his hands and his body. The light that shot at Kai was pushed away from him, a shadow wall surrounded him. His hair whipped around him as his body was engulfed in flames. The light that was conjured by Rinsi still shone around them, but did not penetrate him enough to bother him more than a cut would. His eyes were becoming sore from the blinding light, but nothing more.

Ki'iro was silent in the back of his mind. He had appeared unconscious from his lack of strength. Kai laughed villainously at Rinsi.

"I told you, you can't hurt me." He said, though his voice was beginning to break. He maintained his composure.

"Alright, whoever you are." Rinsi said with a smile plastered on her face, but still on guard, "Let's chat. Tell me, since you're not Ki'iro, who are you? And why are you here?"

Cecil rested on Nakya's head and looked down into her face.

"Mistress Rinsi will be alright. She's strong. Stronger than her parents, though she doesn't know that yet."

"Cecil, it's my fault that this happened to Ki'iro..I should be in there fighting for our friends.. Not Rinsi.."

Sighing softly, Nakya continued to watch, wishing she could go to Ichio for comfort.

"Even so," Cecil said, somehow sounding more mature than s/he normally let on, "Cecil knows the Starlights like they were Cecil. Starlights aren't just healers. Starlights are protectors. They'll do anything to protect their friends."

"Who I am, is none of your business. Why I'm here, is also none of your business. You don't need to know anything about me, or what happened to Ki'iro." He stopped talking for a moment and listened for Ki'iro. All he heard was his broken breathing.

His hair continued to whip around him, Kai's defense didn't falter a bit.

"Like I said, you don't need to know about me. Ki'iro's gone now. It's all Kai now. Now if I may be so rude as to ask, who exactly are you? I feel like I know you from somewhere. Your family, perhaps? What is your name?" the male demanded.

"Well, then, Kai," Rinsi said, smiling at his slip of the tongue, "if you won't tell me anything, why should I tell you anything? It's hardly fair."

Rinsi remained guarded. She had no idea what he was talking about, and she wasn't sure whether to be happy or worried that he somehow knew her.

Kai flinched softly as the girl said his name. Raising a flame-covered hand, he let a tendril of a shadow reach out towards her face. As it touched her beautiful skin, flashes of her memories raced into his mind. Satisfied, he pulled the shadow back.

"Mmm, a Starlight I see. Yes, we know your family well," he said as shadows continued to flick around him.

_Mind reader?!_ she thought to herself when the shadow flame retracted back towards Kai. She had a lot of questions for him, but he didn't seem to eager to answer. That was fine. She'd ask Ki'iro later.

"Oh?" she said, almost cooing, "And how is it you know the Starlight name? Tell me, how do you know me, when I do not know you?"

"Miss Starlight, I do believe our game is over. It was nice playing with you, I will be on my way, if you don't mind."

The male bowed slightly and walked towards the light barrier. Shooting a hand out, shadows raced towards the light, drawn to it, drawn to make it darker. The barrier shattered before him and he ran out into the forest, shadows trailing from behind him as he left. He ran deeper, and deeper into the trees until the light meadow behind him was no more than a flicker of hope.

Rinsi's eyes widened. How the HELL was he able to break her barrier like that? Had Cecil been wrong? Or had her spell been too weak? She couldn't tell. Internally she wanted to scream, to run up to the guy and smack him upside the head with her staff. She even tried to, but her body wouldn't cooperate. Instead her knees buckled beneath her, and she fell to her knees in shock.

"Cecil, we need to talk." was all she could manage.

Seeing Rinsi collapse and Kai run off into the forest, Nakya scrambled to her feet and went running to Rinsi. Dropping to her knees beside her, Nakya took her in her arms.

"Rinsi.. Are you okay sweetheart?" she asked softly.

Nakya pushed all her grief and guilt off to the side, as she took care of her friend.

Hearing Nakya's voice snapped Rinsi back to her senses. She shook her head violently for a moment, trying to rid herself of the remaining shock, and smiled at her friend reassuringly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about that!" she said cheerfully, "I hope I didn't hurt you when I pushed you like that."

"You didn't" she said, smiling at Rinsi. "Is Ki'iro still there? Or is he gone for good?" she asked.

Looking in the direction Ki'iro ran, Nakya frowned feeling responsible for everything that had happened.

"Ah, I'm glad for that." Rinsi said, playing cheerful as she stood up and brushed herself off a bit. "Hm, I'm not sure. I guess that's up to Ki'iro himself. But I would like to know how Kai knows me and my family. I'm going to have to make a phone call."

Walking up behind Nakya, Ichio stood a bit distant, trying to find something to say.

"Kai and Ki'iro are at odds. Ki'iro has to be in pain. I'm not sure if it applies to him, but if one personality rejects another, especially if there are only two, one can be snuffed out entirely. Something needs to be done." He said quietly, pulling his sleeves down as he inspected something on the ground.

Turning to look up at Ichio, Nakya listened to his words.

"The only time this happens, is when Ki'iro gets upset. I upset him. So if Ki'iro is hurting or goes away, it will be my fault, just like it was when you left..."

Tears filled her eyes as she buried her face in Ichio's chest.

"I didn't mean for any of this to happen, I swear.."

"I'll stay out of our room for a bit so you can have some privacy then." she said, turning to look at Rinsi.

"Nakya," Rinsi said, now sounding a bit irritated, "stop blaming yourself for everything, okay? Jeez...Anyway, once Ki'iro comes back, we'll be sure to train him to keep Kai under control. Sound good?" she said with a wink of her eye.

Frowning at Rinsi, she replied, just as irritated.

"Well I'm sorry if that's all I know how to do. If I take the blame, I can fix it. It's the easiest way to do it."

Turning back to Ichio, she continued holding onto him, her head resting on his chest. Nobody knew anything of her life before here, and she sure as heck wasn't going to let them find out now. She would be ostracized for sure.

Ichio sighed at Nakya's words.

"There is no blame to take, Nakya. If he's not in control, it's not your fault. It's something only Ki'iro can fix, and there's only so much we can do to help him."

He put one arm gently around Nakya, the one opposite of his scarred arm. Not that there were no scars on the other arm, she just didn't know they existed.

"You can't take all the blame all of the time. It'll drive you mad." He smiled, looking up to Rinsi. "Am I right, or am I right?"

Sighing, she nodded slowly. Looking up at Ichio, she spoke to him softly.

"I'm really sorry, for everything."

Connecting her mind to his, she continued.

_'I was so worried you weren't coming back... And it doesn't matter to me who you were in the past. I know who you are now, and I love that person...'_

Her thoughts trailed off. That was the second time she had told him she loved him. The first time had not gone over well.. Maybe he didn't want to be with her anymore.. Realizing her thoughts were still connected to his, she quickly made her mind go blank, hoping he hadn't heard her fears.

"I'd say we're right." Rinsi said with her usual smile. "Even if you think it's easier to take the blame, in the long run it's harder. It's really bad for your morale and can literally drive you to insanity, or suicide. However, if you choose to accept things as they really are, move on, and find a way to correct the situation, you can still fix things without losing your mind or killing yourself. Besides, you've got friends here with you, and they certainly don't blame you , so you shouldn't blame yourself."

"Mistress Rinsi is right!" Cecil chimed in.

"See?" Rinsi said with a laugh, "Even Cecil agrees, and he or she has been around longer than we have been combined!"

Ichio looked back down at Nakya when she moved to face him. A small smile tried to creep onto his face as he heard her words in his head. It vanished as she seemed to stop paying attention to speaking in his head. His face took on one of slight shock, and disbelief. She didn't think.... he wanted to be with her? Ichio opened his mouth, then closed it. It didn't quite make sense to him. Why would he not want to be with her? He couldn't figure it out, so his mind wouldn't form words. He looked at her, eyes wide and questioning pleadingly.

"I suppose you're right..." she said, nodding at Rinsi.

From a distance away, two sets of eyes peered at the happenings of the group before them. Dark eyes glanced to emerald eyes as a dome of light appeared from seemingly nowhere.

"Want me to handle this?" came a husky voice, full of an obvious overabundance of testosterone.

"No, she can handle it. Let's see what she can do." Came a lighter, and far more familiar voice.

Gene didn't avert her eyes for a moment while they talked. She wanted to see what Rinsi could do with those powers of hers, how she would handle a potentially threatening situation with another student whose powers were the polar opposite of hers. She wanted to see just how strong they both were, but Rinsi in particular. A frown crossed her graceful face when the dome of light disappeared and darkness broke through as though someone had punched their way through easily, shattering the dome of light like glass. Perhaps she wasn't as strong as she thought. Or perhaps she was, but had not realized her potential yet. She hoped, for everyone's sake, that it was the latter.

"Professor has his eyes on _her?_" Logan said dubiously. "She can't even handle someone like Ki'iro-"

"Kai." Gene corrected.

"Oh, Kai now? What, is he an MPD patient?"

"Something like that."

"Either way, if she can't handle him, then why are we watching her?"

"I don't think she's reached her potential. I can...sense something about her, but it hasn't come yet. It seems like it's on the way, though."

"I hope you're right."

"So do I."

Looking up at Ichio, she noticed the expression on his face. Furrowing her brow at the look in his eyes, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself up, and gave him a hug. She wrapped her tail around his waist, and whispered in his ear.

"We'll talk when we get a moment okay?"

Not lowering herself back down, she looked over at Rinsi, beginning to smile again.

"So, what should we do now?" she asked.

She was lucky to have friends that cared about her. It didn't matter who she was in the past, all that mattered was here and now. It would take her time, but she was sure she could move on from it.

"There we go!" Rinsi said cheerfully at the return of Nakya's smile, "That's much better! Hm, I suppose for now we wait for Ki'iro to return. I have a phone call to make, so you two go have some fun."

Rinsi had said that last part with a wink of her eye before she sauntered off towards their dorm room. She had a lot of information to dig up, and she wasn't sure how to do it.

Nodding at Rinsi, she let herself slide back down Ichio's body, landed with a soft thud on the ground. Taking his hand in hers, she walked, seemingly aimlessly, but they wound up at a lake. She sat down close to the shore, and looked up at Ichio with a gentle smile.

"I need to know what you're thinking. Just because I can read your mind, doesn't mean that I can understand it."

Leaning against his leg, she flicked her hand, causing an image of herself to rise up out of the water. Flicking her other hand, another image rose up. This time it was Ichio.

Ichio followed Nakya quietly, deep in thought. He didn't sit down next to Nakya when she leaned against his leg. He watched her pull her figure and his from the water, still thinking.

"Nakya." he said quietly, placing a hand on her head before he walked down to the water, picking up a large rock. "I'm afraid of hurting you."

He turned back to face her, eyes watching his hand squeeze the rock in his hand, forcing it to give and crack into pieces.

"If I ever lost my temper around you, or if Yumi did, we could kill you without breaking a sweat. Rinsi is proof of that, and Yumi hadn't used her full power." Ichio looked back to Nakya, dropping the broken pieces to the ground.

Nakya merely nodded listening to Ichio. When he mentioned his fear, Nakya let the two figures fall back to the water. Standing up, she walked over to him and embraced him, her head on his chest.

"I know you wouldn't hurt me Ichio. Neither would Yumi. Not intentionally at least." Hesitating a moment, she continued "How do you feel about me. You're so hard to read, even your thoughts. If I scared you when I said I loved you, I'm sorry."

She looked up at him, eyes full of concern. Taking his hand in hers, Nakya raised it to her mouth, and kissed it softly.

"That's the clincher. We wouldn't intentionally hurt you. But I know it will happen. It has before, and what's to say it won't again?"

Bleeding faces passed in front of his eyes, dying screams sounded in his ears. He didn't want to do that to Nakya.

"You mean too much to me for me to put you in danger like that, Nakya. I could never forgive myself if I hurt you."

Hearing Ichio's words, Nakya felt her heart drop.

"We can still be together right? I promise I won't let you hurt me."

Nakya looked away as her eyes filled with fear and pain. She had waited for him to come back; she loved him. Was he really saying what she thought he was? What would she do, if he didn't feel the same way?

Ichio sighed in response to Nakya's words.

"You're such a bad liar."

A small smile crept onto his lips. He put a finger under her chin, turning her face so he could look into her eyes.

"But it seems to me that being away from you puts you in even worse pain."

He leaned forward, kissing her lightly on the forehead.

"I promise I won't leave you again."

He wrapped his arms around Nakya, pulling her close to his chest, careful not to let his emotion overpower him.

"Nakya, I love you." He whispered.

Nakya smiled quietly when Ichio kissed her forehead. Giving him another hug, she quickly moved behind him and jumped on his back, throwing her arms around his neck.

"I love you too Ichio." she said, her happiness showing in her voice.

She leaned forward and kissed his ear.

"What do you want to do?"

Nakya began to feel like her old self again. It was amazing what one person could do to her. She laid her head on his shoulder, waiting for his answer.

Ichio laughed as she crawled up on his back. She was so energetic when she was happy.

"Hmmm... Let's see." he said, thinking. He didn't want to brink Ki'iro up, in case Nakya became depressed again. "We could go get something to eat. I haven't eaten in a while." Ichio laughed. His stomach growled a moment later. "See?" He laughed again, grabbing Nakya's legs to make sure she wouldn't fall off, then walking up from the beach.

"Oh food! I don't remember when I last enjoyed a meal!" she exclaimed.

It was ridiculous how happy she was really. As Ichio grabbed her legs, she laughed, squirming slightly.

"Sorry, ticklish." she mumbled. Wrapping her tail around him for extra support, she asked "What's your favorite food?"

She rested her chin on his shoulder as he walked up the beach, through the forest and into the school. Nakya giggled the whole way, she was far too ticklish, and if anyone saw her, they'd think she was going crazy.

Ichio smiled the whole way back to the school, glad Nakya was in a good mood.

"Hmmm... It depends on what I'm hungry for." He laughed, then continued, "Right now it's a couple of racks of Baby back ribs..."

His mouth watered, imagining the food at one of his favorite restaurants.

"I hope they have them here." He chuckled, deliberately tickling Nakya's legs. "What's yours?" He asked, pretending he didn't notice her giggling.

Squirming her way off Ichio's back, she landed silently, and grabbed his hand. She easily kept pace with him.

"That's easy! Pasta!"

She smiled up at him. Seeing the cafeteria doors ahead of them, she ran through them, pulling Ichio behind her. Once inside, she grabbed a plate and piled it high with varying types of pasta. Humming softly, she made her way over to an empty table and sat down, waiting for Ichio to join her.

Ichio laughed at Nakya's actions, following her obediently.

"Pasta?" He asked, smirking.

When they arrived at the cafeteria, Ichio immediately smelled something delicious. He walked up to it, looking down at the dark soup. It seemed purple, oddly enough. It smelled like heaven. Dishing up the biggest bowl of it he could find, he followed Nakya to the table. He took his spoon into the soup, swirling it a bit.

"You notice how quiet the school's been? It's like there's no one here..." He said, looking up at Nakya without taking a bite.

"Yes pasta. I love it!"She said excitedly.

She smiled at Ichio. Listening to his question, she nodded slowly.

"It's been this way since shortly after you left. It's as if everyone else just... disappeared."

Frowning slightly for a moment, Nakya twirled a mix of spaghetti and linguine on her fork and popped into her mouth. Her eyes closed as a small smiled graced her lips. As she finished chewing and swallowed, she looked at Ichio's ...soup?

"What's _that_?" she asked, intrigued by the liquid.

Ichio looked down at his soup, unsure.

"I don't really know what it is. But it smelled amazing."

He laughed, sizing up the spoonful. He took a bite, savoring. It tasted sweet, but slightly sour. It was like nothing he'd ever tasted. It burned down his throat, setting it on fire.

"Ow!" he exclaimed, clapping a hand over his mouth as his eyes began to water violently. He coughed, grabbing the glass of milk he'd gotten along with his soup.

"That was weird." he rasped after downing the whole cup. His voice was almost gone. It still burned, but not as badly.

Grinning at Ichio's answer, Nakya watched as he took a bite. Her grin was quickly erased from her face as she saw Ichio's face change. Watching him gulp down his milk, she stood up and moved to his side of the table quickly. Sitting beside him, she gave him a hug before softly kissing his neck.

"Better?" she asked, in a soothing voice.

She reached up and wiped away a stray tear rolling down Ichio's face.

_'It must have been from the water that filled his eyes...'_ she thought to herself.

Ichio winced as he took a deep breath.

"A little." He wheezed, a small smile on his face. "I'm not sure what this stuff is, but it must not be very good for me, if it did that."

He looked down at the purple liquid, which smelled even better, though he hesitated from the pain. Taking a small spoonful, he smelled it carefully, unable to distinguish any ingredients. He stuck his tongue out, tasting the smallest portion. It set his mouth on fire. He dropped the spoon back into the bowl, splashing a bit out onto the table. Smoke rose delicately from the spot, sending a horrible smell of burnt plastic and wood into the air.

"Yeah, I don't think I should eat any more of this." He said quietly, his voice still deteriorating. He pushed the bowl away, his appetite gone.

The phone call to her aunt and uncle had been unproductive. They had no idea who Kai was, and said only her parents would know about something like that, as they kept secrets like that to themselves. Real help they were. Needless to say, this put Rinsi in a rather bad mood. She hated needing information and being deprived of it. She spent some time pouting over it before her stomach reminded her that she hadn't eaten in a while, and was falling into a bad habit of not eating three meals a day as her body required her to do.

Now she stood at the salad buffet part of the cafeteria, heaping vegetables and toppings into a bowl on her tray. The only other thing there was a small plate with fish on it for Mooney, and another plate heaped with hot dogs for Cecil. Cecil, of course, was bouncing around her happily, overjoyed that s/he would get to eat hot dogs. Finding a lone table and not bothering to look around, Rinsi sat and grumpily began to pick at her salad.

Renny skipped down the hall, being her usual bubbly self. Her animal was hanging from her hand. She headed into the main office of the building, intending on speaking to the headmistress.

She found her easily, she began blurting out ideas.

"The school year's almost over, and I think that we need to have a going away dance! I mean, there's like one more day left in the school year. Let's just celebrate what we've accomplished!"

Renny just smiled confidently. The headmistress sighed heavily, she wasn't a fan of dances. But she granted Renny her wish.

Renny quickly bolted down the hallway and began calling some people that she knew. One of her good friends was a DJ, and she just figured decorations weren't mandatory. All she needed was some good music to have a fantastic time.

Rinsi ate her salad in silence, still perturbed about her current situation, information wise. Just who was Kai anyway, and how did he know her family? She stabbed a stack of lettuce leaves and popped them into her mouth at the same time that Cecil was shoving a hot dog whole down his/her throat, shoveling them in like they were going out of fashion. Rinsi chewed on her bite, not really tasting anything as she was deep in thought.

After she was done eating, she had picked up her dishes and was taking them to the kitchen to be washed, when she could hear someone talking excitedly. She set her dishes down and followed the voice to the new girl that had bumped into her the other day. She was talking excitedly on the phone, and from what Rinsi could hear, she was making arrangements for a party of some sort.

_Perfect,_ she thought to herself, _this is exactly the thing we all need to wind down. I think I'll wait until it's official, though, before spreading any word about it._

Once the conversation was done with, Rinsi knocked on the girl's door, hoping she could at least have someone to talk to for a bit, since Nakya and Ichio were busy with each other. If not that, then maybe she could at least jog or practice with the girl.

~ Year one, Fin ~

* * *

**Authors Note: **Yes, I know this is a bit early, but I figured it would be best to post this now, rather than forgetting to do it later. xD Besides, it's close enough to midnight right now, so why not? Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Comment please? Beta please?

Well, that was an exciting year, no? Don't worry! There's more! /spoiler. Hm, I wonder how Kai knows Rinsi so well? ;D You'll have to tune in next week to find out! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

On a more personal note, I think the thing with Nakya and Ichio is absolutely adorable. What do you think? How do you like the story so far? Comment and let me know how I'm doing!


	17. A New Year

Rinsi tugged at the hood of her parka. It was bitter cold outside, turning her nose pink, but she liked the cold, and the snow. She smiled to herself as she approached the building she had long since become familiar with a year ago, as she was a student trying to learn what to do with her new found powers. Only now, she was going to be teaching. She just hoped there would be less drama this year. She missed being room mates with Nakya, but she knew it was for the best anyway. It would be weird for the telepathic cat girl to be rooming with her literature teacher, especially now that she had a boyfriend in her life, as well as other classes that there would inevitably be.

As she trudged through the powdery snow on the ground, she had to restrain herself from stooping down to start building a snowman. The snow really liked to bring out the kid in her, and normally she would obey without hesitation, but right now she had to unpack once more, this time in an empty teachers dorm room. After that, she had to set up her class and get things in order. No doubt this would be a much busier year, but she was up to the task. She was only 22 but already had the skill and intelligence to teach high school literature. She could have taught any other class she wanted, but she thought it was fitting since she loved to read so much.

Rinsi tapped her boots clean of the snow that clung to them at the entrance to the school, smiling to herself, even though she still missed the presence of Cecil. The little guy/girl had grown on her, and even though s/he had long since gone back to his own world, refusing to return until she at least had a boyfriend, at times it was like s/he was still there. She had almost expected to hear him/her yell something excitedly about being back to school, seeing all of Rinsi's friends again, or diving into the snow and asking endless questions about it. She was disappointed when she didn't hear it, but still kept the smile on her face as she trudged down the halls towards her dorm room.

Ki'iro stepped out of the car his parents had dropped him off in. Raising his hand, he called shadows to open up the trunk. And flicking his wrist, they grabbed the bags that he had and put them onto the ground. He shivered softly in the snow, but his jacket kept him fairly warm. And once he turned to see the school again, his heart leapt. He was home. The feeling of this school gave him a sense of belongingness; it gave him a sense of hope. Ki'iro only hoped that maybe this year, he wouldn't hurt anybody again.

Then his phone rang.

"Kyra?" he asked out loud to himself. The car behind him had long since drove away.

"Hello?" he answered as he flipped open his phone.

"Ki'iro! Hey there!" the woman cooed over the phone. She had a melodic voice. "How are you babyyy?" She asked, extremely excited and happy.

"Kyra, we had a thing, but we aren't anything anymore. I told you that when I left. I'm sorry." he sighed heavily as he hung up the phone without another word.

As Rinsi was entering the building, she heard a familiar voice behind her. Turning to see who it was, her heart did flip flops. She wasn't sure whether to be happy, angry, anxious, sad, or whatever. The last time she had seen him, he was someone else who knew her, though she didn't know him. She just hoped he was back to himself this time.

"Ki'...iro?" she said questioningly, "Or...is it Kai?"

Stepping out of the cab that had pulled up in front of the school, Nakya stepped out, pulling her hood trimmed with fur up. The fur framed her face nicely, her now long blonde hair trailing out the sides. Humming, she pulled her knee length black trench coat tightly around her. This year was sure to be better. She grabbed the bags the cab driver had pulled out of the trunk for her and paid the man. Walking up the steps to the school, she passed a boy. He was so familiar and yet so different. Hearing his voice, she spun around, her hair forming a halo as it spun out. Watching him hang up the phone, she squealed.

"Ki'iro?!"

Forgetting how they had ended the last year, Nakya dropped her bags on the stairs, and ran down them towards Ki'iro.

"I was wondering if you were coming back! You look good! How are you feeling?!" she exclaimed as she threw her arms around his neck.

Turning around, she ran up the stairs to pick up her bags. Seeing Rinsi, she squealed with excitement again. Pulling her old roommate into her arms, she gave her a huge hug.

"Cmon guys! It's cold!"

Pulling the front doors open, she waited for him to catch, and him to respond.

Ki'iro laughed as Nakya ran at him. He hugged her back softly and followed her inside, smiling as well when he saw Rinsi.

"Star!" he yelled happily.

His voice boomed through the halls. Ki'iro dropped his hold on his bags and ran up to Rinsi. He wrapped her into a tight hug and smiled again as he let her go and took a step away. He looked her up and down and smiled. She had grown up a bit.

"How are you Rinsi?" he asked curiously. "Did you have a good summer? What'd you do? Why do you have so many books?-"

He stopped and smiled again.

"Are you a teacher?" Ki'iro laughed softly at the thought. Looking around, he gasped slightly.

"Where's Cecil?" he worried.

Rinsi was knocked from her stupor when Nakya hugged her, completely derailing her quickly spiraling thoughts. She was glad for this, as she didn't like to be serious for too long. She hugged her past room mate back and got a good look at her. She really looked good! Her hair was nicely trimmed so that it flattered her, and her jacket was just as flattering.

"Nakya?! Wow! Glad to see you! You look great!" she said excitedly.

Hearing Ki'iro call her 'Star' again, she knew he was back to himself. Even though it didn't seem she could smile any wider, she did. She was glad to have him back!

"Woah, slow down there, cowboy. Yeah, I'm the literature teacher. Surprise! Er, Cecil went back to his world. I can't summon him again unless I have a boyfriend. S/he's being really stubborn about it."

Blushing at Rinsi's comment, she replied.

"I look good and I'm dangerous too!"

Seemingly pulling a dagger out of nowhere, Nakya winked at Rinsi as she balanced it by the tip of the blade on one finger. Tossing it in the air, she caught it and undid her jacket, revealing her new style and body. Forgetting that her friends hadn't seen her like this, she slipped out of her coat, draping it over one arm, and stuck her dagger back underneath her skirt.

"Has anyone seen Ichio?" she asked softly, looking around the halls.

"Woah, there, Tiger!" she said to Nakya as she seemed to show off, "Save the show for Ichio. Though, if I were into chicks I'd take you for myself."

Rinsi had said that last part with a wink. It was true. Nakya had...blossomed. A LOT. She was sure if Ichio was there, he'd pounce her and take her in a moment. And while Rinsi was as straight as they come, she was also the type who was not afraid to admit when someone of the same sex was attractive, and possibly even tease about it. She wasn't shy either. All her 'friends' knew that.

"Dangerous combination there. Good looks and being dangerous. You could get a lot of guys like that. They drool over you, and if they cross the line you don't even need that dagger to punish them. I'll fill you in on it later. Unfortunately, Ichio hasn't shown up yet." Rinsi said with a wink.

Ki'iro smiled softly. It seemed that they had all grown extensively. Rinsi was his teacher, Nakya had well, grown up. He looked her up and down, she had become extremely attractive. But he was over her, and wanted to put the past behind them.

"Nice tricks," he said with a smirk. Looking around the hall as well, he shook his head. "I haven't seen him yet, no. Sorry. Are you guys still a thing?" He asked, laughing as he thrust his hips as a joke.

Laughing softly at Rinsi's comments about her looks, she rolled her eyes. When she heard neither of them had seen Ichio yet, a small frown graced her lips for a moment, before she was smiling again. Gasping at Ki'iro's comment and 'gesture', she cuffed him lightly upside the head before replying softly.

"I think so, maybe.. I didn't hear from him much over the summer. We better be."

She folded her arms stubbornly, a bit of the old Nakya coming out.

"Oh! Did you guys see my tattoo?" she asked, pulling her skirt up a tiny bit so that it would be visible.

Bending down, she grabbed her bags, and began piling them against the wall. She grabbed a piece of gum and popped it into her mouth as she leaned against the wall, waiting for their answers.

Ki'iro just laughed as she hit him.

"Nice erm," he paused and gulped, "Tattoo."

She was just purely beautiful, and frankly, he hated it.

"It's cute. I hope you and Ichio are still together," he said with a sincere smile.

"Oh, what a scandalous one it is!" Rinsi said, laughing, "Tell ya what, whether or not you guys are together, if you show Ichio your new looks and tattoo the way you showed us, he'd be all over you like white on rice. Hey, better have enough for the whole class!"

Rinsi was really joking about the gum. She couldn't resist such a remark. She was already having a great time, and she hadn't even gotten things set up yet! Such it was when she was with her friends. As soon as their backs were turned, Rinsi squatted and scooped up some snow, forming it into a loosely packed ball before launching it at Nakya.

"Thanks Ki'iro." she said with a wink.

Grinning at Rinsi, she blew a large bubble, before sucking it back into her mouth.

"So did you guys have a good sum—AIYEE!" Nakya screamed the last of her question as a snowball hit her. Turning to face Rinsi, she grinned evilly.

"Oh really now?" she asked, a teasing tone to her voice.

Flicking her hand, a perfectly formed snowball began floating. Snapping her fingers, it went flying towards Rinsi.

"Did I mention I have more control over my water manipulation now? And you all know how snow is just frozen water." Nakya began laughing as she ran over and hid behind Ki'iro. Exclaiming dramatically, she grabbed his arm. "Save me Ki'iro!"

"Oh?" Rinsi said, scooping up another ball of snow after brushing the snow off her jacket from the ball that had nailed her, "I was wondering what that comment was about last year about you needing water. I didn't know you could control it. Well, that makes for a more interesting snowball fight!"

Not really caring who she hit, she formed another ball and threw it at Nakya again. Even if it did hit Ki'iro, at least it wouldn't hurt. She had made sure the ball was loosely packed, so it would explode on impact without inflicting pain. There would be a tickle at most, aside from a little snow clinging to the impact area.

Ki'iro chuckled as Nakya ran behind him.

"I'll save you!" he said all heroically. He put his arms out and stared at Rinsi.

"You'll have to go through me first evil fiend!"

Suddenly, a ball of wet sludge hit in in the face. Laughing, he grabbed Nakya and pushed her in front of him.

"Save me Nakya!"

Laughing at Ki'iro, she watched as he got hit in the face. When he pulled her in front of him, she rolled her eyes.

"My hero." she said sarcastically.

Flicking both hands, four snowballs rose. As Nakya snapped, they all went flying at Rinsi.

"Of course I can dear!" she exclaimed, laughing softly.

Shivering slightly, she pulled her jacket back on, being sure to do it up and pull up the hood. She went to take a step forward and slipped, momentarily losing her balance. She grabbed onto Ki'iro's arm for support.

"Thanks Ki'iro!" she said once again with a wink before running off to hide in some nearby trees.

Rinsi had dodged this time, though barely. She could feel the cold of the wind and the snow as it whizzed past her ear and landed helplessly in the snow behind her. She had seen Nakya shiver, and figured this girl wasn't as accustomed to the cold as she was.

"Well, that was fun." she said, laughing at both of them, "Let's head inside. We all have unpacking to do anyway."

Ki'iro flicked his hand up, forming a shadow wall around himself. He quickly darted behind a wall and hid there.

"Guys! Let's go inside! It's freaking cold out here!" he said, calling from behind it.

He stood up and walked out with his hands up in submission.

"It's cold," he repeated as he made his way over towards his bags.

Seeing that the fighting had already stopped, he raised a hand, causing a shadow to grab a hold of his bags.

"Sure! Save the good protection for yourself." She said, mock sarcasm in Nakya's voice.

Hearing they were going inside, Nakya let out a sigh of relief, her air forming a cloud in front of her face. Running carefully, or so she thought, she moved towards her bags. Stepping on a slippery patch, she slipped and landed on her butt before somehow flipping over backwards, landing in the cold snow. Nakya lifted her head, a very unsatisfied look on her face and snowflakes in her hair.

"Did I mention I hate snow?!" she exclaimed, grumbling as she stood up, brushing as much snow as possible from her clothes.

Rinsi burst out in a guffaw of laughter at the cute and funny display. Clearly Nakya wasn't used to the snow, which was odd for a girl who is supposed to be hydrokinetic. She grabbed her sides, doubling over as she laughed, but didn't dare point. That would just be insulting. It took a moment, but once she got herself under control, she walked up to Nakya and offered her hand.

"Come on, clumsy. Let's go inside."

Ki'iro ran over to Nakya as she fell over.

"Are you okay, Nakya?" he asked, stifling a smile.

Seeing her get up, he shrugged and went back to his bags. She was a big girl now, she could take care of herself. When he said "big" girl, he definitely meant "big" girl. Especially in...certain areas. A soft blush crept up to his face as he thought about her. Shaking his head, he headed inside, shadows carrying his bags behind him. As he pushed the door open, the warmth of the halls rushed to his snow-soaked body.

Ki'iro headed towards his dorm, dragging Nakya with him. He intertwined his fingers with hers and flicked his other hand to raise shadows to carry Nakya's bags for her. They walked in silence, his socks squished with every step he took, given they were soaking wet. Walking up the same flight of stairs they had walked up many times before, he smiled as they reached her dorm room. So much had gone on here last year, he wanted to forget the majority of it, sadly. He took her key and opened the door for her. With his free hand, he moved her bags into her room.

"I'll see you in a bit, Nakya." he said softly as he let go of her hand.

He walked down the silent hallway towards his own dorm room which was only one room away. Placing his bags down on the floor, he once again, began unpacking.

Rinsi watched as Ki'iro decided to be the gentleman and assist Nakya to her dorm room. She stood back and watched, smiling. She was so glad to see everyone, to see how they'd grown over the summer! Both Ki'iro and Nakya were looking great.

Rinsi turned when she heard a car door open and shut behind her. There was a new girl to the school. She looked like she was American, and apparently a fashion girl, given how many bags she had. That was fine. Rinsi was a fashion girl herself, though she was a bit more practical. Rinsi smiled and walked up to her.

"Hi there!" she said cheerfully, "What's your name?"

After introducing herself to the new girl, Rinsi had dismissed herself to her own dorm. It was much more spacious than her dorm as a student, which was a good thing. She would need the extra space as a teacher, mostly for grading and storing papers. As she expected, all her bags were on her bed. They had been delivered the day before and were waiting for her to unload them.

Unpacking took about an hour or so, but most of that was because she had a lot of stuff to hang up. Not a lot of her stuff could withstand being in a drawer without getting horribly wrinkled. She even took time to get her laptop set up on her desk. That didn't take much, except she had to find an outlet for the adapter, and that was a bit of a pain. Mooney had begged her for food half way through, so there was time for that as well.

Now Rinsi was wondering down the halls towards her classroom. She still had yet to get the room set up, even though she had the books from the library carried in there before her arrival. As she opened the door, the air still a bit musty from not being used over the summer, she found the books for class stacked on her desk. The desks had been wiped off from the thin film of dust they had gathered, and the board was freshly washed. The floor was freshly cleaned and waxed, too. Even her Grecian sandals squeaked softly on the floor beneath her as she wondered towards her desk. The bright yellow skirt from her dress she was so famous for wearing most of the time nearly trailed to the floor as it was, but it was so clean she didn't have to worry about getting her dress dirty. She began leafing through the stack of books, making sure each book was what she had ordered, and that each book was in satisfactory condition.

Rinsi had just finished setting up her class room and had finished putting the assigned reading material on each desk. Now she was on her way out of her classroom. Everything was all ready to go, she just needed to get the class agenda for the semester printed up. She could do that, later, though. She already had the file prepared on her computer anyway, and would send the file to the office printer later to be printed. For now, she was hungry. No, hungry wasn't a strong enough word. She had missed breakfast, and had not even had so much as a snack since then. No, she was ravenous. She was on her way down the hall towards the cafeteria when she spotted Ki'iro leaving his dorm room. This was perfect for her, as she had something she wanted to talk to him about anyway. She smiled and waved him over, inviting him to follow her to the cafeteria.

However, as she stepped out, she saw the girl from over and smiled at her. No private chat with Ki'iro today, she supposed.

"Ah, hello there!" Rinsi said cheerfully, "Can I help you with something?"

Ki'iro still headed over to Rinsi, even though there was another girl present. He smiled softly and bowed as he saw her.

"Hello Miss," he said simply.

Moving so he could stand next to Rinsi, he just listened to the conversation.

"Ki'iro, I have something I want to talk to you about later. Is that okay?" Rinsi asked, a smile still plastered on her face, but mostly for the comfort of the new girl. "For now, shall we all head to the cafeteria? I don't know about you guys, but I think my stomach is about to consume itself."

Ki'iro nodded in agreement, his eyes looking at the girl. His gaze was hidden by the fringe of his hair that fell over his eyes.

"Agreed," he said simply.

He could tell that something was off with Star. Ki'iro flicked his head, pushing the hair away from his eyes. His skin seemed to have gotten a lot paler from last year. He shoved his hands into his jean pockets and looked back at the girl again.

"Ki'iro," he said.

Nakya followed Ki'iro up the stairs silently. She remembered how many times they had made that trip in the past, and how it had all eventually ended. It seemed Ki'iro had forgiven her though. When they reached her dorm room, she watched as Ki'iro opened her door, and sent her bags in. Nodding when he said he'd see her later, Nakya walked into her room. She hoped her roommate would be as nice as Rinsi was. Unpacking her things, she quickly put everything away and hung her coat up. Fixing her hair and straightening her dress in the mirror, she walked out the door, and locked it behind her. Making her way into the hall, she saw Ki'iro stand beside Rinsi. She was happy for her friends. There was something else though... she couldn't tell what it was, but she didn't like it. Walking past the group of three, she smiled brightly.

"I'll race you to the cafeteria!"

Throwing the door open, she slid down the railings. Hitting the ground floor, she ran to the cafeteria. Over the summer, she had quit eating meat, it made her feel gross. Grabbing a plate, she loaded it up with fruits and veggies before sitting by herself at a table.

"Where is Ichio?" she asked herself softly.

"See you there, Rinsi!" Ki'iro called as he raced after Nakya who had fled down the stairs.

His feet flew softly across the tile as he ran. Skidding into the cafeteria, he got a bowl of french onion soup - without the cheese of course. He stood next to Nakya and cleared his throat.

"May I sit?" he asked politely. Ki'iro waited for her response.

"Since when do you need to ask?"

Wrapping her tail around his wrist, she moved him closer to the table gently, so he wouldn't spill, then let go.

"Be my guest."

Nakya looked around quickly before grabbing a strawberry and taking a bite. A bit of strawberry juice ran down her lip, and she quickly licked it off.

"The strawberries are good this year. How was your summer?"

Nakya quickly looked Ki'iro over, not trying to hide it. He definitely grew up, matured some by the looks and sound of it. Taking another bite of her strawberry, she let her thoughts wander a bit, but not too much so she could still catch Ki'iro's answer.

Ki'iro laughed uneasily and sat next to her, he began slurping his soup.

"Strawberries are almost always really good. Now blueberries, you have to watch out for those." he laughed softly at his knowledge of fruits.

"My summer? I stayed by myself most of the summer. Studying and reading and such. My parents just wanted me gone all summer, which was fun. Had a-" he cut himself off. Did he really want to tell Nakya about his fling with a girl? Sighing softly, he continued with his story. "Had a good time with some friends of mine. Forgetting about all the drama and things that happened last year, which was interesting. Kai's gone." he said simply.

He didn't really want to talk about what happened with Kai right now. Sighing again, he slurped another spoonful of soup.

"You don't have to sit beside me you know, if it makes you uncomfortable. I promise I won't surprise you with a kiss or bite you." she said, hearing Ki'iro's nervous laugh.

A small smile graced her lips. She heard the hesitation in his voice, and wondered what he was about to say, but did not say.

"I will go into your mind Ki'iro, if you don't tell me the truth. You know that."

Hearing him bring up the drama that happened last year, and knowing she had caused pretty much all of it, she replied softly.

"Yeah, listen. I didn't get to apologize for that last year. I'm really sorry. I though--"

Seeing Rinsi and the new girl walk in, Nakya shrugged it off and began paying attention to her food again.

"I'm glad Kai's gone. I was always so frightened when he was there and you weren't. But then again, I was pretty emotional and all over last year." Nakya let out a strained laugh before returning to eating.

Ki'iro sighed softly, it wasn't worth it. Keeping secrets from his friends was [i]not[/i] a good way to start the year. Taking a final slurp of his soup, he turned to face Nakya.

"I had a fling with a girl," he said flatly. There was no emotion in his voice, he didn't really want to talk about her.

"Yeah, I guess. What's on the menu?"

CandiceSpring was super shocked because the teacher was not in her room. She waited for the teacher to respond. CandiceSpring heard her stomach growl, wanting to eat anything, even a chair. CandiceSpring was not sure should she introduce herself first of eat.

"By the way, I'm CandiceSpring and how bout you?"

CandiceSpring stuck her hand out hoping the teacher would shake her hand.

"Pleased to meet you, Candice!" Rinsi said cheerfully as she shook the girl's hand warmly, "My name is Rinsi Starlight. Well, I think they might be serving cheeseburgers today. I'm not sure. Let's go investigate, shall we?"

Rinsi had said that last part with a wink. She knew she had already lost the race to the cafeteria with Nakya, but she supposed that was better than rudely leaving a possible student in the hall, wondering where everything was.

"Follow us! Oh, and since you know me and Ki'iro now, I suppose I should tell you that girl that raced us to the cafeteria is Nakya. You should get to know her. She's an interesting person."

CandiceSpring shoke 's hand then let go.

"Ok, lets go!!! I am ready and so is my stomach for food.

CandiceSpring decided to follow before she gets lost in the middle of nowhere. On the way, she heard her stomach growl again. She started dreaming about burgers, french fries, and milkshakes.

Rinsi smiled at the girl and walked down the hall. She knew how much of a maze the place could be. Hell, it took her forever to figure out where her dorm was, let alone places like the cafeteria and the library. Her stomach growled loudly as well, almost at the same time as Candice's did.

"So," she said as they neared the cafeteria, "what abilities do you have? That's pretty much the only way you could get in here, really."

"Well, I am half human and half penguin which give me the abilities of water and ice powers. People think it is weird about the penguin thing, but I think it is unique.

CandiceSpring finally made it to the Cafe.

"So...do you like being a teacher?"

CandiceSpring walked inside of the Cafe and could smell cheeseburgers.

"Yummy for the Tummy"

CandiceSpring said to herself.

"Yeah, it's fun sometimes. But grading papers is the worst!" Rinsi said cheerfully as she grabbed herself a tray and began piling on dishes of fruit salad, chicken stir fry, and rice, "This is my second time. Last year I came here as a teacher, but mostly so I could learn about my abilities."

Rinsi saw Nakya and Ki'iro an waved to them. Deciding it would be best for Candice to make more friends anyway, she sat with them, sitting across from the two of them. She waited for Candice to follow suit and began to dig into her food.

"So, how was your guys' summer?"

Nakya looked at Ki'iro and kept a neutral face

_'He had a fling with a girl? Of course he did. What were you thinking Nakya. He's over you and you're over him.'_ she thought.

"Sounds like fun. Here eat this." she said, lifting a kiwi to his mouth.

Waiting for him to answer, she began humming again, while picking up a slice of pear and putting it in her mouth. Looking down at her plate, she realized she had nothing left. After Ki'iro took the kiwi from her, she grabbed his plate and hers and took them to the kitchen quickly. Returning, she smiled down at him.

"My summer was eventful." she said, not wanting to go into too many details.

No longer was Nakya content to just sit still. She needed to be doing something.

"I need to go do something. I'll see you guys later."

Hoping she wasn't being rude, she turned to walk away.

"Oh, and I haven't talked to Ichio in over a month, if you see him, tell him I'm wandering around?"

Admitting that, a pained expression crossed Nakya's face briefly before she chased it away as she walked out the cafeteria doors.

"Nakya, I-"his voice was cut short. "Sure, I'll let him know you were looking for him."

Ki'iro forced a smile. He was supposed to be over her. Ki'iro just sighed again and looked over at Rinsi. He winced at the stench of her chicken. "Poor thing..." he said under his breath. "My summer was uneventful." he said plainly.

CandiceSpring grabbed a tray. She took a plate and some silverware and began to collect food. CandiceSpring took a cheeseburger, fries, a fruit bowl, and a milkshake. CandiceSpring saw sit beside two people. She still decided to sit with them.

"Hi randoms!!!"

CandiceSpring giggled. She could not believe that she made a fool out of herself.

Rinsi had a bite of chicken stir-fry half way to her mouth when she noticed Ki'iro's change of expression. She set her fork down, ashamed of herself for forgetting that Ki'iro was sensitive about animals.

"S-sorry." she muttered, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly, "Candice, this is Ki'iro."

"Oh its ok. Hi Ki'iro. Whats crackin lacklin. That's cool talk for what's up"

CandiceSpring started looking for the ketchup, mustard, and mayo. When she found it, she piled some on her burger then slopped some ketchup on her french fries. SHe put her straw in her milkshake and sipped a tiny piece of it.

Ki'iro shrugged softly at Rinsi's reaction.

"No really, it's fine. It's your decision, I keep to mine." He said as he looked over at what Candice had gotten, her food was probably just as bad, or worse.

* * *

**Authors Note:** Yay! Another year of fun! It even begins with fun! Yet we still don't know about Kai...Yes, I know. I promised you this chapter, but I forgot he does not say until later. Remember, this story is based off a role play, and all that is written here is, more or less, just copied from the role play (with the owners of the respective characters permissions, of course). Anyway, you'll find out later. :P DON'T KILL ME! If you do that, then you'll never know. ;D

Okay, thanks to 5567_NO_Okami, I've found another site to host this story on. Really, I only posted it here so I could post by chapter and update weekly, or whenever I want. The downfall was that it HAD to be a fanfic of something, and the thread this story is based on is not a fanfic of anything, really. It is it's own story, and I really wanted it to stay like that, but knew of no sites that would allow that. Media Miner does allow that, and after this chapters, all further chapters will be posted there, as well as all the previous chapters, edited to be what they should be.

http : // www . mediaminer . org / fanfic / view_ / 165788 /

Since Fanfic doesn't like links, i had to add spaces to it. Take out the spaces before you actually try to navigate to that page, or it won't work. See you all on MediaMiner! Oh, and I'll be here occasionally. There's some things I do want to write a fanfic on, but I need more ideas so I can actually write it and keep it going. ;P


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